Innovative Hr Practices to Maintain Work Life Balance of Employees

INNOVATIVE HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES FOR MAINTAINING WORK-LIFE BALANCE OF EMPLOYEES Author – [pic] Mr. Virendra Gadiwar, Miss Puja Shedge & Prof. Poonam Vatharkar. INDEX 1. INTRODUCTION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 1. 1. Background†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 1. 2 Defining work life balance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦. 3 1. 3 meaning†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 2. 1 Importance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5 2. Advantages†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 2. 3 Techniques influencing work life balance†¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6 3. OBJECTIVE OF CONDUCTING SURVEY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 3. 1 How the survey help?†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ . 8 4. 1 Method of data collection†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 4. 2 Research Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦8 5. ANALYSIS OF DATA. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦10 5. 1 Tabular Representation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 5 . 2 Diagrammatic Representation. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 13 6. FINDINGS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 14 7. CONCLUSION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 14 1. INTRODUCTION: 1. 1 Background The role of work has changed throughout the world due to economic conditions and social demands. Originally, work was a matter of necessity and survival. Throughout the years, the role of â€Å"work† has evolved and the composition of the workforce has changed. Today, work still is a necessity but it should be a source of personal satisfaction as well. One of the vehicles to help provide attainment of personal and professional goals is work-life benefits and programs The issue of work-life balance has developed out of demographic and social changes that have resulted in a more diverse, declining workforce, different family and work models. Supporting work-life balance (WLB) is seen as a way of attracting and retaining the labour force needed to support economic well-being. In organizations and on the home front, the challenge of work/life balance is rising to the top of many employers’ and employees’ consciousness. In today’s fast-paced society, human resource professionals seek options to positively impact the bottom line of their companies, improve employee morale, retain employees with valuable company knowledge, and keep pace with workplace trends. However, experience has shown that policy on flexible work practices needs to be supported by strategies to achieve effective implementation. This research provides suggestions and options for Human Resources Managers on developing and managing equitable flexible work practices. It has been designed to provide practical advice to assist organizations in achieving successful implementation of these policies which would be a key initiative for inclusion in an organizational WLB. 1. 2 Defining work-life balance: 1. †Work life balance is about effectively managing the juggling act between paid work and the other activities that are important to people. It’s not saying that work is wrong or bad, but that work shouldn’t completely crowd out the other things that matter to people like time with family, participation in community activities, voluntary work, personal development, leisure and recreation† . â€Å"Working practices that acknowledge and aim to support the needs of staff in achieving a balance between their home and working lives† 3. â€Å"people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work. It is achieved when an individual's right to a fulfilled life inside and outside work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society. † UK organization Employers for Work-Life Balance 1. 3 Meaning : In recent years there is a dramatic change in much organization with respect to work-Life balance (WLB) which is named as flexible work time arrangements, the sensitivity of topic is reflected by its idea which is to provide personal work style preferences. This arrangement is famous for job satisfaction, commitment, and engagement of an employee. When we talk about flexibility the first thing which we relate it with is relaxation, relaxation in terms of tasks, duties, responsibility, but when we particularly talk about WLB it means that we are talking about nontraditional great schedules and working away from campus. There are a significant percentage of employees already involved in flexible time arrangements that they do not work the standard schedule of 8:00 am to 5:00 pm which is being followed by the most of the organization. Variable arrangements provide for daily, weekly, monthly, or annual fluctuations in scheduling. Flexible arrangements are a broad term we are not only talking about daily scheduling but it may vary to monthly or even annual rearrangements of time. In flexible arrangements we are not bound to an old stereotypical standards but a fair customize scheduling. Work-Life Balance does not mean an equal balance. Trying to schedule an equal number of hours for each of your various work and personal activities is usually unrewarding and unrealistic. Life is and should be more fluid than that. Your best individual work-life balance will vary over time, often on a daily basis. The right balance for you today will probably be different for you tomorrow. The right balance for you when you are single will be different when you marry, or if you have children; when you start a new career versus when you are nearing retirement. 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK : 2. 1 Importance: 1) Productivity : Managers can increase the productivity of employees by responding to their need to balance work and personal obligations. This positive approach by managers can: ? Inspire increased loyalty and commitment from employees. ? Retain employees and make savings on the costs of employee turnover, training and absenteeism. ? Examine how work-life balance policies affect another variable such as job satisfaction or organizational commitment, and then correlate these variables to productivity. 2) Job Satisfaction : When work extends into family time, it can create stresses which then extend into the workforce. One meta-analysis suggests that there is a consistent negative relationship between work-family conflict and job satisfaction. As far as work-life balance policies can reduce the conflict between work and family, they can increase job satisfaction. There is no strong empirical evidence of a positive association between high employee satisfaction and high productivity, but job satisfaction does have a clear negative relationship to absence and turnover. A satisfied workforce may be valuable because employees are then less likely to be absent and consequently affect the bottom line. Other commentators suggest that work-life balance policies can increase organizational commitment. Higher levels of organizational commitment are then correlated with lower turnover and better job performance. 3) Saving Costs : The work-life balance important to reduce for the cost of an organization such as, ? Reduced staff turnover: †¢ Estimated cost of replacing a manager: †¢ Estimated cost of replacing an employee. Organizations are rest upon the assumption that work-life balance policies will improve staff retention. Reducing staff turnover leads to lower costs, as recruiting new staff is a costly process. Staff loss leads to direct costs and indirect cost. Direct cost associated with recruiting, such as advertising, interviewing. However indirect costs associated with the loss of institutional knowledge and contacts. Greater staff retention also reduces training costs. Having staff staying longer in a firm, increases the returns on investments made in their training. There is Cost savings also if work-life balance policies reduce absenteeism. 2. 2 Advantages: a. Enables extension of working hours. . Improves recruitment and retention of staff. c. Gives some scope to match peak staffing with peak demand for departments where the work pattern is unpredictable. d. A staff is able to fit domestic commitments in around the start or finish of the ordinary working day. e. Staff is able to miss the worst of the rush hour. f. Choosing to work early or late when there are fewer interruptions. g. Staff abl e to log extra hours worked and takes time back later. h. Staff able to consolidate credit hours into a half-day or day off. 2. 3 Techniques Influencing Work-Life Balance: |SR. NO. TECHNIQUES | DESCRIPTIONS | |1 |flexible work agreement |An agreement documenting specific flexible working arrangements negotiated between an individual employee | | | |and workgroup manager, signed by the employee and workgroup manager, and approved by the corporate manager| |2 |flexible working |Flexible working arrangements define the flexibility in working conditions available to specified groups | | |arrangements |of employees and the parameters within which individual agreements can be negotiated | |3 |flexi time |A flexible arrangement of working time, which allows employees to negotiate how and when hours will be | | | |worked within limits and conditions set by the corporate manager. |4 |compressed weeks |An arrangement which enables employees to exchange an agreed reduction in their salary ove r a specified | | | |period for extra periods of leave. The period or periods of purchased leave are planned in advance and | | | |funded by salary deductions spread evenly over the total period of the agreement. | |5 |job share |An arrangement where one full-time job is shared between two or more people. Each person works part-time | | | |on a regular on-going basis. | |6 |Part time |in basic terms this applies to staff who work fewer hours than full time, e. g. orking 20 hours over 3 | | | |days rather than 37 hours over 5 days | |7 |Voluntary reduced hours |a temporary reduction in working hours should be available in | | | |all forces, but may be given a different name | |8 |Annual hours |works on the basis of agreeing a fixed number of hours over a year, then calculating the hours on a | | | |monthly basis, i. e. instead of a five-week shift pattern | |9 |Career breaks |Taking an unpaid break in your career. | |10 |Home/tele working |staff working mainly from home or at a geog raphically separate site and | | | |Communicating with their HQ /base station via phone and e-mail. | 3. OBJECTIVE OF CONDUCTING SURVEY : The main objective of our survey is to focus on employee satisfaction with organization policies so as to control level of stress, lack of productivity, lack of moral etc. which effect employee retention and turnover. Therefore to achieve high employee satisfaction and engagement different innovative human recourse policies could be adopted. To address this issue, our survey is conducted to investigate the innovative human recourse policies to maintain work life balance of employee that aims to improve satisfaction and engagement. 3. 1 How The Survey Help? A comprehensive evolution of Work-life balance can best be seen as a â€Å"check up† on the human resources policies of your organization. Like any check-up, you learn both what is working well and where there are areas needed improvements. When conducted on regular basis, systematic method for assigning employee satisfaction will let you identify key trends and pattern among employee attitude towards the WLB, thereby enabling you and your company to anticipated and act on upcoming problems and issues. As a result, an human recourses policies study conducted this will enable you to use the information from your employee as a tools for change within your organization. We strongly believe that human resources policies studies should represent a mutual exchange of information between employee and organization. To fulfill this simple principle, there is a critical need to make employee feel that they are part of the research process. For maximum effectiveness, employee must believe that work-life balance have values to them as well as to the organization, that believes in clarity demostaticting to employees this study is an opportunity to be heard and directly influence human resources policies . This approach not only measurable impact on participation rates but also effect the degree to which employee trust the outcomes when finding are reported back to them. For these reasons, all questionnaires are carefully designed for a case of use, including straightforward wording a clean layout and simple navigation. 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 4. 1 Method of data collection: The survey was developed by a department team comprised of representatives from several organization, institutions, and the business farms. Evaluations provided technical assistance, and the team reviewed on human resources polices for maintain work-life balance. Following extensive discussion, the team determined the basic structure, format, questions, and methodology for administering the survey. Each workgroup member was asked to include participants from management, professionals, and support staff. The purpose of the test was to determine the following: a) Determine which technique will influence the Work life balance in human resources policies. b) Determine if the employee feels about work-life balance. c) To solicit suggestions for improvement of the human resource policies. d) To solicit information on employees willingness to participate in such a Survey. e) To solicit information on ways to encourage employee participation. 4. 2 Research Methodology: Research can be define as â€Å" process of systematic inquiry that is design to collect, analysis, interpret and use to understand, describe, predict or control an educational physiological phenomenon or to empower individuals in such contexts. This research undertaking is designed to be a descriptive study about objectives, types of data, sources of data, questionnaires, sampling and sample design. a) Collection of Data: There are two kinds of data can be taken as the survey is concern about they can be , i. Primary data ii. Secondary data From the above types of data the data can be extracted as following: Primary Data: It includes the Questionnaires taken for the survey includes ten factors with the rating options. Secondary Data: It includes the literature review as follows: ? There is clear evidence of a strong business benefits in the case studies, however these conclusions are context specific, and not necessarily general sable. There is No â€Å"one size fits all† business case for work-life balance policies. ? The larger, econometric studies are less common that the case study work but they do find a correlation between productivity and the presence of work-life balance policies. ? The evidence of the business benefits of work-life balance policies is reasonably strong, and increasing. There are many incentives for the usage of WLB policies – according to a 2002 National Development Plan Study, the level of family friendliness of the workplace (as measured in terms of number of family friendly policies available) was significantly correlated with the work satisfaction of fathers and mothers. The benefits of such policies included employee satisfaction, attracting/retaining employee productivity, reduced labour turnover, reduced absenteeism and improved business results. b) Questionnaire: Quantitative data in this study is collected through a questionnaire that was distributed to IT sector employees. The purpose of the questionnaires is to know about the employee satisfaction with organization policies which effect employee retention and turnover. The questionnaire is designed to determine the actual and perceptive view of the employee. To do this, the employees were asked to complete the questionnaire in two ways. First, they were asked close ended questions like â€Å"yes/no† according to their perception. Secondly, they were asking open ended questions in which they can write anything according to related question. c) Sampling: A process of selecting no. of units for a study in such a way that the unit represent the large group from which they are selected. The sampling can be defines as â€Å" a finite subject selected from population with the purpose of investigation of particular objective is called as sampling. The sapling method for this survey was a â€Å"simple random sampling†. The simple random sampling is the easiest from all probability sampling it assure that all the members in the population are included in the list and then randomly selected the desired no. of sample. 5. ANALYSIS OF DATA Processing and analysis of data involved open and closed ended questions related to work life balance which are performed the summarized collected data and organizing it in a manner that it gives the answer to the research question and objective. The questionnaire was as below, â€Å" This study is being undertaken for purely academic purpose on work-life balance i. e. flexible timing at the work place. The information collected will be treated as confidential and no means will be revealed in the research. Please read these questions and select appropriate option. † 1) Please specify about you- a) Gender : Male Female b) Age Group : Under 18 18-24 25-34 35-49 50-64 65 &above 2) What is your working time? 3) Do you want any changes in your timing? Yes No 4) If the flexible working times would be offered to you, will it help in your personal life? Yes No ) Do you think that if employees have good work-life balance, the organization will be more effective and successful? Yes No 6) Which of the following techniques of maintaining the work life balance are used by your Organization? | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | a) Part time job b) Job sharing c) Compressed hours d) Voluntary reduce hours e) Flexi timing f) Annual hours g) Term time working h) Variable working hours i) Carrier breaks ) Over working allowance 7) Which technique /s you want your organization to introduce so as to maintain your work life balance? 8) Do you feel it will enhance your performance at work? Yes No 9) In your view does the techniques helps to increase employee commitment towards the organization? Yes No 10) Do you think that there will be direct co- relation of work-life balance and employee satisfaction? Yes No 11) According to you does work-life balancing techniques help for reducing the level of stress? Yes No 5. 1 Tabular representation Srs no |Question no |response |No of response |Percentage of response | |1 |1(a) |Male |24 |57. 14 | | | |female |18. |42. 86 | |2 |1(b) |a)under 18 |0 |0 | | | |b)18-24 |10 |23. 81 | | | |c)25-34 |25 |59. 52 | | | |d)35-49 |7 |16. 7 | | | |e)50-64 |0 |0 | | | |f)60-above |0 |0 | |3 |3 |a) Yes |30 |71. 43 | | | |b) No |12 |28. 57 | |4 |4 |a) Yes |28 |66. 66 | | | |b) No |14 |33. 33 | |5 |5 |a) Yes |38 |90. 48 | | | |b) No |4 |9. 52 | |6 |8 |a) Yes |40 |95. 3 | | | |b) No |2 |4. 76 | |7 |9 |a) Yes |41 |97. 61 | | | |b) No |1 |2. 38 | |8 | 10 |a) Yes |41 |97. 61 | | | |b) No |1 |2. 38 | |9 |11 |a) Yes |40 |95. 23 | | |b) No |2 |4. 76 | 5. 2 Diagrammatic representation 6. FINDINGS – From the survey and above given tabular statements we can able to interpret the data. The survey conducted through IT employee from them 24(57. 14%) are male and 18(42. 86%) are female, under which 10(23. 81%), 25(59. 52%) and 7(16. 67%) are in 18-24, 25-34 and 35-49 age group respectively. Among the respondents 30(71. 43%) wants to change in their current timing and 12(28. 57)does not want 28(66. 66%) feels that If the flexible working times would be offered to them, then it will help in their personal life and 14(33. 33%) doesn’t feel that it would help. 38(90. 8%) think that if employees have good work-life balance, the organization will be more effective and successful and 4(9. 52%) don’t think this way. 40(95. 23%) feel that if they suggested any techniques of work life balance which suitable for them, then it will enhance their performance at work and 2(4. 76%) not feel so, 41(97. 61%) feels that the suggested techniques will helps to increase their commitment towards the organization. From the respondents views 41(97. 61%) feels that there will be direct co- relation of work-life balance and employee satisfaction and 1(2. 38%) don’t feel so. 40(95. 23%) views on the work-life balancing technique help for reducing the level of stress. 7. CONCLUSION On the basis of survey done on â€Å"Innovative Human Resource Policies for Maintaining Work-Life Balance of Employees† conclusion can make as follows: While performing on work life balance policies in organization the sex (male/female) should be considered priory. It is concluding from survey, as the employees’ are the major assets of an organization their satisfaction (that is 97. 61% feel) will play great role for the growth and development of organization. A committed workforce is the hallmark of a successful organization. Committed employees are more productive and work with a focus on quality to increase organization goodwill. However the employees are the organizations most important audience and they hold the keys to organizational success.

Case Study analysis of Satyam scandal Essay Example

Case Study analysis of Satyam scandal Essay Example Case Study analysis of Satyam scandal Paper Case Study analysis of Satyam scandal Paper This paper is a case study analysis about Satyam Computer services. This case study analysis will identify key facts about the case in question and outline the problems within the case study, it will than conclude with solutions or recommendations to the problems stated backed up by Management theory.  Satyam is a Nasdaq listed company and a major player in the global IT service industry. The chairman of Satyam is Ramalinga Raju. The Satyam case that broke out in early 2009 made a public scandal. The Satyam case showed a complete disintegration of ethical standards, absence of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), criminal activity and negligence of management issues and duties. Raju was also alleged to falsifying 13,000 ‘ghost’ employees, an estimated monthly salary of US$4 million. This cash flow was diverted and eventually used to purchase land. Raju admitted to corporate fraud and was arrested and later charged with fraud, forgery, embezzlement and insider trading. His brother Ramu and the company’s CFO were also arrested and charged. Management Problem:  The management problem is involved in ‘white-collar crime’. The auditors from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWS) were unable to identify the fraud. That leads to issues regarding lack of control on the negative outcomes of fraud that further leads to ethical and social responsibility issues. Such issues are creating problems by stopping investors in future investment on Satyam shares. The following paragraph will justify above issues with the help of literature review. The case study is addressing ethical issues because Satyam is misrepresenting 13,000 employees and proving the act of ‘corruption’ (p.121). Through corruption Satyam is enhancing the business interest by engaging itself in illegal practices. Secondly, Raju has an MBA from Ohio University and knows with clarity what is right and what is wrong. The act of wrong doing knowingly is violating ethical standards. Raju also believed that his questionable behaviour will not be found out while manipulating cash flows thus providing basis for rationalisations for unethical behaviour (p.144). Raju’s motivation was to keep in touch with the US$50 billion Indian outsourcing industry which let Raju’s interest stand above all other standards of the organisation (p.145). Therefore, corruption, doing a wrong act knowingly, and rationalisations of unethical behaviour justifies the existence of ethical issues. The case study is also addressing the issue of corporate social responsibility (CSR) as the Raju’s fraudulent actions are negatively affecting the stakeholders of Satyam and the economy as a whole. The Satyam case is violating ‘Financial Responsibility’ and ‘social/community responsibility’. Satyam activities lack of transparency due to neglecting moral reasons is creating trustworthiness, dependability and credibility issues for the organisation. Recommendations:  Due to the ethical dilemma’s that occurred in Satyam I would recommend the company and its auditors firstly conduct a formal and full investigation into the workings of the company to pin point and identify just how far into the company these issues are. Secondly Ethics training (146) in the form of an ethical decision making model would be introduced to the company and all employees would be trained and confident in being able to make decisions in an ethical manner. An example of an ethical decision making model is the â€Å"Six steps to ethical decision making† model. A course of action like this ensures that ethical decision making in regards to the company is seen as a big issue internally in the company and every employee has a good grasp and understanding of what is seen as ethical and unethical behaviour. In the case of the CSR issues Satyam has lost the trust of its stakeholders, a solution to reclaiming that trust is transparency, as a publically traded company that held secrets that nearly led to the demise of the company. Satyam should become a more public company and show more of their work to the public through use of forums, information sessions and general advertising to earn that trust back by their stakeholders. Internally the company needs to continually raise awareness of CSR at every opportunity, develop a Credo and shared values and constantly restate these at every opportunity through forums, information sessions etc and incorporating these principles into all training. Though Professor Sudhakar Balachandran still argues that the traditional measures that are relied on to stop this sort of behaviour (e.g corporate governance, auditing and legal consequences) is not good enough and stricter penalties need to be introduced. His argument is that â€Å"white collar crime is just as bad as any other crime† and should therefore have stricter penalties as a deterrent. Satyam obviously has no control of the legal consequences of such actions but in taking Professor Balachandrans opinion into consideration a strong course of action would be for Satyam to take a hard line on anyone neglecting these values and any breach of them however big or small should be immediately reported and examined both internally in the company and externally through the auditors before consequences are implemented, strict internal penalties for breaching the companies values need to be introduced and everyone in the organisation must be well informed of the consequences. Conclusion:  In conclusion this case study analysis introduced the Satyam scandal of 2009, and highlighted for the reader what the major issues were regarding the case and recommended solutions such as education, training and stricter penalties to help deter and potentially put a stop to incidents such as this in the future. Reference list: Shermerhorn, Davidson, Poole, Simon, Woods, Chau ‘Management foundations and applications’ https://learning.secure.griffith.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=communityurl=%2Fbin%2Fcommon%2Fcourse.pl%3Fcourse_id%3D_53067_1 https://learning.secure.griffith.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=communityurl=%2Fbin%2Fcommon%2Fcourse.pl%3Fcourse_id%3D_53067_1

Call money and commercial bill market

Call money and commercial bill market Global Financial Market As all the Financial Markets in India together form the Indian Financial Markets, all the Financial Markets of Asia together form the Asian Financial Markets; likewise all the Financial Markets of all the countries of the world together form the Global Financial Markets. Financial Markets deal with trading (buying and selling) of financial securities (stocks and bonds), commodities (valuable metals or food grains), and other exchangeable and valuable items at minimum transaction costs and market efficient prices. Financial Markets can be domestic or international. The Global Financial Markets work as a significant instrument for improved liquidity. Financial Markets can be categorized into six types: Capital Markets: Stock markets and Bond markets Commodity Markets Money Markets Derivatives Markets: Futures Markets Insurance Markets Foreign Exchange Markets The Financial Markets play a major role in the Global Economy because it helps busi nesses to raise capital (in capital markets), they facilitate transferring of risk (in derivative markets), and they help international trade (in currency markets) to prosper. The International Stock Markets form a major part of the Global Financial Markets. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange, which started operating in continuous trade in the earlier part of the 17th Century. Some of the Important Stock Exchanges of the world are: The New York Stock Exchange (merged with Euro next): The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is a stock exchange based in New York City, USA that was incorporated in 1817. In terms of dollar volume, it is the largest stock exchange in the world, and in terms of the number of companies listed it is the second largest stock exchange in the world. The NYSE is also known as the Big Board. The indexes used in the NYSE are the NYSE Composite Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index. The NYSE functions under NYSE Euro next, the format ion of which was the result of NYSE’s merger with Archipelago Holdings and Euro next. Tokyo Stock Exchange: The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE), incorporated in 1949, is located in Tokyo, Japan. In terms of monetary volume, The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the second largest stock exchange in the world, only next to New York Stock Exchange. The indexes used in the TSE are Nikkei 225, Topix, and J30. NASDAQ: The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations, or NASDAQ, is an electronic stock market based in New York City, USA that was incorporated in 1971. The NASDAQ Stock Market, Inc. is the owner and regulator of NASDAQ. The main index used in NASDAQ is the NASDAQ Composite. London Stock Exchange: Established in 1801, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) is one of the oldest and largest stock exchanges in the world. In terms of market capitalization, the London Stock Exchange was ranked 4th among all the other important stock exchanges in the world in March 2007. The London Stock Exchange is located in Paternoster Square near St. Paul’s Cathedral, London. The stock market index of London Stock Exchange is the Footsie (FTSE). Euro next (merged with NYSE): Founded in 2000, Euro next N.V. is a pan-European Stock Exchange, which is based in Paris. In terms of market capitalization, Euro next ranks as the fifth largest stock exchange in the world. There was a merger of Euro next with the NYSE Group, which led to the formation of NYSE Euro next and it is the first global stock exchange. The main indexes used in Euro next are the Euro next 100 Index and the Next 150 Index. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE): Located in Mumbai, India and founded in 1875, the Bombay Stock Exchange is the oldest stock exchange of Asia. The main index of BSE is called the BSE Sensex (Sensitive Index) or the BSE 30. In terms of volume of transactions, the BSE was ranked as one of the top five stock exchanges in the world in 2005. Some terms that are used in t he Global Financial Markets are: Geek, a Quant Grim Nerd, a Quant Quant Big Swinging Dick Rocket Scientist White Knight Today equity research has become a specialized activity, although confined to a very small segment of the market. It would be a little early to consider equity research as an independent business segment, but at the same time it must be appreciated that the value of equity research is being felt by the market. This is an interesting stage in the growth and development of equity research, especially in a situation where the traditional individual investor is unwilling to pay for vital stock related information while the institutional investor is already paying for research reports. The phenomenal growth of the financial markets over the last quarter of a century has meant that the very character of investment has changed with ever larger scales of market capitalization. The emergence of the Fund Manager as a new value addition in investment r elated financial services is actually a part of the growth and development of the institutional investor. The fund manager’s sole objective is to ensure maximum returns for his clients whose money he invests working in tandem with research inputs. The fund manager and his client are a vital part of the institutional investment process sustained by an advanced and research driven approach to capital market investment. Equity research still has some time to develop as a sustainable business model, but like any other research activity it has its limitations in developing into a booming business. Institutional investors are willing to pay ever higher amounts for in-depth and precise research in accordance with their requirements. Some of the modes of equity research are:

Daoism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Daoism - Essay Example becoming an Immortal.† (Reninger). When Jing, Qi and Chen are cultivated, the individual can achieve a healthy state of mind and body. The three energies, the reproductive energy known as Jing, life energy known as Qi and spiritual energy, Chen are essential for maintaining health and this practice helps in transmutation of these energies. The loss of bodily fluids can result in the loss of Jing, vital force in the human body. In the Daoist Spiritual Practice of "Inner-Alchemy, an individual is helped to free himself from desires. This freedom from desires will result in preventing the loss of Jing through the bodily fluids. Jing is cultivated by practices which teach the person to control his physical desires and avert the discharge of bodily fluids. Qi can be cultivated by keeping one’s mind pure; the mind is trained to focus on the goal the person wants to achieve through the practice of Inner-Alchemy. Chen, the spiritual energy is cultivated by union of the body and mind. In this practice, one form of energy is transmuted into another and this process is reversed again to maintain the balance of yin and yang in one’s body. The three energies are utilized to maintain the balance of life. â€Å"The goal is to preserve, restore and transmute the energies within into their natural state that existed at conception, to their primordial state of Tao that existed before awareness of the world dissipated them.† (Fowler). The ultimate purpose of this practice is to extend longevity of human life and attain immortality. This practice aims at aiding an individual in the achievement of spiritual, physical and mental health. When a person succeeds in achieving these aims, his/her life can be free of health disorders, leading to a long and healthy life. The balance of yin and yang which is essential for preserving the human body and mental

Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and International Human Essay

Elimination of Discrimination Against Women and International Human Rights - Essay Example Most of the non-governmental organisations that champion for women rights’ are under United Nations. United Nations member states adopt several treaties that seek to protect the rights of women. The Charter of United Nations recognises that persons have basic human rights and should live a dignified-life. In addition, the Charter prevents all forms of discrimination because every person is has equal freedom regardless of gender. Discrimination against women infringes the rights and respect for human solemnity. It limits women from taking an active part in political, social, cultural, and economic developments in their country. In addition, inequality between in genders demeans women’s contributions in the family, society, and in individual states. This is because women do not have enough space to exploit their potentials. In the light of this, United Nations has entered into several treaties that seek to cushion women from any form of discrimination (General Assembly). This paper will analyse the convention of elimination of discrimination against women. It will then endeavour to highlight the contribution of the convention to development of international human rights. Women have been on the receiving end of all forms and mannerisms of men behaviour. Patriarchy dominates virtually all the indigenous and marginalised societies. Men perpetrate all forms of discrimination to women. Women suffer because they are voiceless in presence of male dominated societies. Discrimination against women happens in all sectors. These forms of discrimination include forced relocation from women’s ancestral lands, pollution and destruction of their homes, limited or no education at all, and poor health care. Other human right’s violations that women face include rape, domestic violence, forced sterilisations, and inadequate reproductive health care. These vices have significantly limited women participation in national and international matters. These b ad experiences of women have attracted the international attention to provide an amicable solution. Women use various ways to demand for call for recognition of their human rights. These are efforts to end discrimination and oppression of women (Kambel, 2004). United Nations stepped forward to safe women from wrath of patriarchal nature of society. It did this through signing of various treaties that recognises women rights. United Nations is replete with regional commissions, specialised agencies, programs, and other instruments to address the plight of women. Nations have presented entities that seek to recognise women rights. The countries do so in the international circles. The commitment of all the world society structures is to achieve equality and human rights. Steiner (2008: 175) notes that the number of movements advocating for women rights has increased over the years. Leaders and champions of human rights hold international conferences with the main goal of reducing the g ap between men and women. Non- governmental organisations are in the forefront to advance the efforts to eliminate discrimination against women. Women have formed movement aiming to draw the attention of international community to recognise their rights (Steiner, 2008:173). The lessons that international community learned from the tragedies of Second World War led to signing of the Charter of United Nations. The aim of this alliance was to bring peace, mutual aid, and human rights

How Insurgencies End Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How Insurgencies End - Assignment Example However, most factors are frequent in majority of the cases. Fundamentally, insurgency results primarily from political and monetary differences. Consequently, the opposition opts to resolve the disparities by combative means resulting in an insurgency. This write-up highlights factors that have characterized the conclusion of countless insurgencies. Additionally, it highlights details a conflict that has transpired recently. Conspicuously, time has a noteworthy implication on the conclusion of any conflict. According to the Rand study, an insurgency tends to fade over time1. The report discloses that countless insurgencies commence vigorously: nonetheless, the rebel become weary over time. The weakening of such rebellion is attributable to numerous factors. First, the administration will counter any uprising that seeks to oust it from authority. Subsequently, the insurgency’s followers diminish due to the military confrontations that they encounter. Additionally, the authorit ies utilize state resource that can sustain a military offensive over lengthy durations. Conversely, most insurgencies have no sustainable funding. The scarce funding diminishes the duration, which the rebels can sustain the conflict2. Hence, time establishes the culmination of any conflict. ... Initially, the Sri- Lanka dissenters, the Tamil appeared to have outwitted the authorities and inhibited a sizeable territory. However, the Sri-Lankan regime reconstituted its strategies towards the insurgency3. The administration undertook a vicious offensive against the radicals, which concluded in the administration recouping the region that the Tamil Tiger inhibited. Time allowed the government to gather appropriate resources, which enabled the offensive culminating in the subduing of the Tamil Tigers. Leadership and following denotes another critical aspect with a key bearing on the conclusion of any insurgency. The leadership is critical in any insurgency since it not only identifies the strategies, which the conflict will adopt but also unites the followers. This is critical since most insurgency face well equipped regimes, which are willing to commit enormous resources to crash any insurgency4. The leaders guide the momentum to attain the course of the rebellion. However, som e of the leaders die or defect; consequently, resulting in a gap in the top brass. The enemy faction can utilize the leadership vacuum to subdue the rebellion since they lack individuals to provide apposite strategies that any insurgency requires for its survival. Furthermore, strong leadership limits infiltration by counterinsurgencies from enemy factions. Infiltration avails the adversary faction with suitable data on the intended strategies of the rebels. Consequently, allowing it to institute apposite measure to counter the insurgencies. Diminishing following also renders any insurgency vulnerable since it has few combatants. Nevertheless, many insurgencies succeed despite having fewer followers like the ousting of Batista’s rule by Castro in Cuba. Castro had a

Quality of Working Life and Work Schedule

Quality of Working Life and Work Schedule In recent past the term Quality of Work Life QWL has appeared in research journals and the press with remarkable regularity. The increasing concern for QWL has been due to several factors: (a) increase in education level and consequently job aspirations of employees, (b) association of workers, (C) significance of human resource management, (d) widespread industrial unrest, (e) growing of knowledge in human behavior, etc. The success of any organization is highly dependent on how it attracts recruits, motivates, and retains its workforce. Todays organizations need to be more flexible so that they are equipped to develop their workforce and enjoy their commitment. Therefore, organizations are required to adopt a strategy to improve the employees quality of work life (QWL) to satisfy both the organizational objectives and employee needs. This article reviews the meaning of QWL, Models and Components of QWL, criteria of measuring QWL, issues, dimensions, principles of QWL and Various wo rk schedule alternatives. KEY WORDS Quality, Quality of Work Life, Human Relations, Flexi-time, Compressed Workweek, Telecommuting, Job Sharing. 1.1 What is Quality of Work Life? The term Quality of Working Life (QWL) has an assortment of meanings for different persons. According to J. Richard and J. Loy, QWL means, the degree to which members of a work organization are able to satisfy important personnel needs through their experience in the organization. Some regard it as industrial democracy, that is, more of employee participation in the management process. For managers and administrators, the term denotes improvement in the working conditions and respect of psychological needs. Trade unions and blue collar workers construe it as more job security, equitable profit sharing and healthy working conditions. For rest, the term takes a broad view of changing the organizational climate, structure and managerial system. QWL refers to the favorableness or un-favorableness of a total job environment of the people. QWL is the degree of which work in the organization contributes to material and psychological well being of its members. Harrison. One expert defines QWL as a process of joint decision making, collaborating and building mutual respect between management and employees. D.S. Cohan: The Quality of Work Life Movement Training,HRD, Jan.1979,p.24. During 1979, the American Society of Training and Development created a Task Force on the quality of working life, defines QWL as, QWL is a process of work organizations which enables its members at all levels to participate actively and efficiently in shaping the organizations environment, goals of enhanced effectiveness of the organization and improved quality of life at work for the employees. The basic purpose of QWL is to develop jobs and working conditions that are excellent for people as well as for the economic health of the organization. QWL provides a more humanized work environment. It attempts to serve the higher order needs of workers as well as their more basic needs. It seeks to employ the higher skills of workers and to provide an environment that encourages improving their skills. Q Quest for excellence U Understanding A Action L Leadership I Involvement of the people T Team spirit Y Yardstick to measure progress Quality of Work life is concerned with the following types of questions: J.R. Hackman and J.Ll Suttle: Improving Life at Work, Goodyear Pub.Co.Inc., California, 1977. How to develop careers that allow employees to realize their full capabilities and interests? How to design jobs to provide meaningful, interesting and challenging work experience? How to utilize group dynamics and participative management to improve the quality of life at the workplace? What supervisory strategies help to improve the quality of work life? How can the desired organizational changes be carried out? Quality of working life has been differentiated from the broader concept of quality of life. To some degree, this may be overly simplistic, as Elizur and Shye, (1990) concluded that quality of work performance is affected by quality of life as well as quality of working life. However, it will be argued here that the specific attention to work-related aspects of quality of life is valid. Whilst quality of life has been more widely studied, quality of working life remains relatively unexplored and unexplained. A review of the literature reveals relatively little on quality of working life. Where quality of working life has been explored, writers differ in their views on its core constituents. It is argued that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts as regards quality of working Life, and, therefore, the failure to attend to the bigger picture may lead to the failure of interventions which tackle only one aspect. A clearer understanding of the inter-relationship of the various facets of quality of working life offers the opportunity for improved analysis of cause and effect in the workplace. This consideration of quality of working Life as the greater context for various factors in the workplace, such as job satisfaction and stress, may offer opportunity for more cost-effective interventions in the workplace. The effective targeting of stress reduction, for example, may otherwise prove a hopeless task for employers pressured to take action to meet governmental requirements. Wikipedia 1.2 Models and components of quality of working life Various authors and researchers have suggested models of quality of working life which are as follows: Hackman and Oldham (1976) in their research The Job Diagnostic Survey. New Haven: Yale University drew attention to what they described as psychological growth needs as relevant to the consideration of Quality of working life. Several such needs were identified: Skill variety, Task Identity, Task significance, Autonomy and Feedback. They suggested that such needs have to be addressed if employees are to experience high quality of working life. In contrast to such theory based models, Taylor (1979) in The quality of working life in Western and Eastern Europe. ABP more pragmatically identified the essential components of quality of working life as basic extrinsic job factors of wages, hours and working conditions, and the intrinsic job notions of the nature of the work itself. He suggested that a number of other aspects could be added, including: individual power, employee participation in the management, fairness and equity, social support, use of ones present skills, self development, a meaningful future at work, social relevance of the work or product, effect on extra work activities. Taylor suggested that relevant quality of working life concepts may vary according to organisation and employee group. Warr, P, Cook, J and Wall, T (1979) Scales for the measurement of some work attitudes and aspects of psychological well being. Journal of Occupational Psychology. 52, 129-148., in an investigation of quality of working life, considered a range of apparently relevant factors, including: work involvement, intrinsic job motivation, higher order need strength, perceived intrinsic job characteristics, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, happiness, and self-rated anxiety. They discussed a range of correlations derived from their work, such as those between work involvement and job satisfaction, intrinsic job motivation and job satisfaction, and perceived intrinsic job characteristics and job satisfaction. In particular, Warr et al. found evidence for a moderate association between total job satisfaction and total life satisfaction and happiness, with a less strong, but significant association with self-rated anxiety. Thus, whilst some authors have emphasized the workplace aspects in quality of working life, others have identified the relevance of personality factors, psychological well being, and broader concepts of happiness and life satisfaction. Factors more obviously and directly affecting work has, however, served as the main focus of attention, as researchers have tried to tease out the important influences on quality of working life in the workplace. Mirvis and Lawler (1984) suggested that quality of working life was associated with satisfaction with wages, hours and working conditions, describing the basic elements of a good quality of work life as: safe work environment, equitable wages, equal employment opportunities and opportunities for advancement. Baba and Jamal (1991) listed what they described as typical indicators of quality of working life, including: job satisfaction, job involvement, work role ambiguity, work role conflict, work role overload, job stress, organisational commitment and turn-over intentions. Baba and Jamal also explored routinisation of job content, suggesting that this facet should be investigated as part of the concept of quality of working life. Some have argued that quality of working life might vary between groups of workers. For example, Ellis and Pompli (2002) identified a number of factors contributing to job dissatisfaction and quality of working life in nurses, including: poor working environments, resident aggression, workload, innability to deliver quality of care preferred, balance of work and family, shiftwork, lack of involvement in decision making, professional isolation, lack of recognition, poor relationships with supervisor/peers, role conflict, lack of opportunity to learn new skills. Sirgy et al. (2001) suggested that the key factors in quality of working life are: need satisfaction based on job requirements, need satisfaction based on work environment, need satisfaction based on supervisory behaviour, need satisfaction based on ancillary programmes, organizational commitment. They defined quality of working life as satisfaction of these key needs through resources, activities, and outcomes stemming from participation in the workplace. Needs as defined by the psychologist, Abraham Maslow, were seen as relevant in underpinning this model, covering health safety, economic and family, social, esteem, actualization, knowledge and aesthetics, although the relevance of non-work aspects is play down as attention is focused on quality of work life rather than the broader concept of quality of life. These attempts at defining quality of working life have included theoretical approaches, lists of identified factors, correlation analyses, with opinions varying as to whether such definitions and explanations can be both global, or need to be specific to each work setting. Bearfield,(2003) used 16 questions to examine quality of working life, and distinguished between causes of dissatisfaction in professionals, intermediate clerical, sales and service workers, indicating that different concerns might have to be addressed for different groups. The distinction made between job satisfaction and dissatisfaction in quality of working life reflects the influence of job satisfaction theories. Herzberg at al., (1959) used Hygiene factors and Motivator factors to distinguish between the separate causes of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction. It has been suggested that Motivator factors are intrinsic to the job, that is; job content, the work itself, responsibility and advancement. The Hygiene factors or dissatisfaction-avoidance factors include aspects of the job environment such as interpersonal relationships, salary, working conditions and security. Of these latter, the most common cause of job dissatisfaction can be company policy and administration, whilst achievement can be the greatest source of extreme satisfaction. An individuals experience of satisfaction or dissatisfaction can be substantially rooted in their perception, rather than simply reflecting their real world. Further, an individuals perception can be affected by relative comparison am I paid as much as that person and comparisons of internalized ideals, aspirations, and expectations, for example, with the individuals current state (Lawler and Porter, 1966). In summary, where it has been considered, authors differ in their views on the core constituents of Quality of Working Life (e.g. Sirgy, Efraty, Siegel Lee, 2001 and Warr, Cook Wall, 1979). It has generally been agreed however that Quality of Working Life is conceptually similar to well-being of employees but differs from job satisfaction which solely represents the workplace domain (Lawler, 1982) Quality of Working Life is not a unitary concept, but has been seen as incorporating a hierarchy of perspectives that not only include work-based factors such as job satisfaction, satisfaction with pay and relationships with work colleagues, but also factors that broadly reflect life satisfaction and general feelings of well-being (Danna Griffin, 1999). More recently, work-related stress and the relationship between work and non-work life domains (Loscocco Roschelle, 1991) have also been identified as factors that should conceptually be included in Quality of Working Life. 1.3 Criteria for measuring QWL Richard E. Walton explains QWL in terms of eight broad conditions of employment that constitute desirable QWL. The proposed the same criteria for measuring QWL. These criteria/ conditions include: Adequate and fair compensation Safe and health working conditions Opportunity to use and develop human capacities Contrary to the traditional assumptions, QWL is improvedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ to the extent that the worker can exercise more control over his or her work, and the degree to which the job embraces an entire meaningful task but not a part of it. Further, QWL provides for opportunities like autonomy in work and participation in planning in order to use human capabilities. Opportunity for Career growth Opportunities for promotion are limited in case of all categories of Employees either gibe to educational barriers or limited openings at higher Level. QWL provides opportunities for continue growth and security by Expanding ones capabilities, knowledge and Qualification. Social integration in the workforce This can be established by creating freedom from prejudice, Supporting primary work groups, a sense of community inter-personnel Openness, egalitarianism and upward mobility. Constitutionalism in work Organization QWL provides constitutional protection to the employees only to the Level of desirability on such matters as privacy, free speech, equity and due Process. Work and QWL QWL provide for balanced relationship among work, non-work, and Family aspects of life. In other words, family life and social life should be Strain by working hours including over time work, work during inconvenient Hours, business travel, transfers, vacations etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Social relevance of work QWL is concerned about the establishment of social relevance to work in a socially beneficial manner. The workers self-esteem would be high if this work is useful to the society and vice versa is also true. It is worth nothing that often the condition that contribute to motivation like equitable salaries, financial incentives, effective employee selection etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.will also contribute indirectly to QWL. Some of these activities like job enrichment might contribute indirectly to QWL by tapping the workers high-order need, and motivating them. Still other activities may contribute directly to QWL providing for a safer work place, less discrimination on the job, and so forth. 1.4 Specific issues in QWL Trade unions claim that they are responsible for the improvements in various facilities to the workers where as management takes credit fro improved salaries, benefits and facilities. However, HR manger has Specific issues in providing them so as to maintain a higher order QWL. Klott, Mundick and Schusterd suggested 11 major QWL issues, they are as follows: Pay and stability of employment Good pay still dominates most of the other factors in employee Satisfaction. Various alternative means for providing wages should be developed in view of increase in cost of living index, increase in levels and rates of income tax and profession tax . Enhancing the facilities for human resource development can provide stability to a greater extent. Occupational stress Stress is a condition of strain on ones emotions, thought process and physical condition. It is determined by the nature or work, working conditions, working hours, pause in the work schedule, workers abilities and nature and match with the job requirements. Stress is caused due to irritability, hyper excitation or depression, unstable behavior, fatigue stuttering, trembling, psychosomatic pains, heavy smoking and drug abuse. Stress adversely affects employees productivity. The HR manager, in order to minimize the stress, has to identify, prevent, and tackle the problem. He may arrange for the treatment of the problem with the health unit of the company. Organizational health programs Effective implementation of health programs result in reduction in absenteeism, hospitalization, disability, excessive job turnover and premature death. They should also cover relaxation, physical exercise, diet control etc.., Alternative work schedules Alternative work schedules including work at home, flexible working hours, staggered hours, reduced work week, part time employment that may be introduced for the convenience and comfort of the workers. Participative management control Workers feel that they have control and over their work, use their Skills and make a real contribution to the job if they are allowed to Participate in creative and decision making process. Recognition Recognizing employee as a human being rather than as a laborer Increases the QWL. Participative management award and reward System, congratulating the employees for their achievement, job Enrichment, offering prestigious to the jobs, providing well Furnished and decent work place offering membership in clubs or Associations, providing vehicles or some of the means to recognize the Employees. Congenial superior sub-ordinate relationships Harmonious supervisor workers relations give the worker a sense of Social association, a sense of belongingness; we should not ignore the Impact of social relations at the work place the productivity resulting from this. Grievance procedure Proper grievance procedure that is quick and justified gives employees an opportunity to vent their feelings and represent their case. Adequacy of resources Resources should match with the stated objectives, otherwise, Employees will not able to attain them resulting in employee dissatisfaction and lower QWL. Senior merit in promotions Companies either take seniority or merit as basis for promoting the employees, each of these methods have their relative disadvantages and hence it is advisable to take both of them together in promotion policy there by resulting in higher QWL. Employment on permanent basis Job security adds a lot not to QWL, for employees working on Temporary basis or on probation are constantly worried about this. Employing them on permanent basis reduces their sense of insecurity and enhances the QWL. 1.5 Dimensions of QWL According to Richard Walton, the main aspects of QWL are as follows: 1.6 Principles of QWL N.Q. Herrick and M. Maccoby: Humanizing Work: A Priority Goal of the 1970s in L.E. Davis and A.B Cherns: The QWL, Free Press, New York, 1975, has stated 4 basic principles to improve the QWL: 1. The Principle of Security Quality of work life cannot be improved until employees are relieved of the anxiety, fear and loss of future employment. The working condition must be safe and economic want should be eliminated. Job security and safety against occupational hazards is an essential precondition of humanization of work. 2. The Principle of Equity There should be direct and positive relation between effort and reward. All types of discrimination between people doing similar work and with same level of performance must be eliminated. 3. The Principle of Individualism Employees differ in terms of their attitudes, skill, potential, etc. Therefore, every individual should be provided the opportunity for development of his personality and potential. 4. Principle of Democracy This means greater authority and responsibility to employees. Stop Cribbing! Our Work Cultures the Best It might surprise many. But Indian Inc has emerged top in a recent survey on high performance work culture in Asia Pacific Region. Indian Companies which accounted for over one-third of the respondents consistently outperformed their counterparts from Singapore, South Korea, China and Australia on Parameters like Strategic goals, leaders as role models, employee communication, talent attraction and attention, effective processes, etc. Source: The Economic Times, June, 2003 1.7 How to Improve Quality of Working Life Fair and Equitable remuneration. Reasonable stability of employment. Employee Health and Safety Programmes. Alternative Work Schedules. Participative Management. Recognition of employees as human beings. Grievance Procedure and effective leadership. Management of Employee Stress. Job Redesign and Enrichment. (Gupta C.B Human Resource Management pub: Sultan Chand Sons, edition 2009.) 2.1 Work Schedules One of the most important techniques of improving the Quality of Work Life is to improve the Work Schedule. Various alternative Work Schedules are: Compressed Workweek Some organizations have introduced short work week, that is, instead of coming 6 or 5 days a week, the employees only have to work for 4 days. But the no. of working hour per day is increased say, 10 hours per day which makes to 40 hours per week. Advantages More leisure time Decreased commuting time Decreased request for time for personal matters Disadvantages Decreased employee productivity due to longer day Underutilization of equipment Increased fatigue Flexitime Flexitime is a system whereby employees are required to work a specific no of hours a week but are free to vary the hours of work within certain limits. Each day consists of a common ore, usually of 4 hours, excluding Lunch hour. For example, the core may be 10 am to 3 pm with the office actual opening at 7 am and closing at 6 pm. All employees should be at their jobs during the common core period but they are free to fashion their personal schedules they prefer. Flexible Hour Common Core Lunch Common Core Flexible Hour 7 p.m 3 p.m 10 a.m 7 a.m Source: D.A. Ralston and M.F. Flanagan, the effect of Flexitime on Absenteeism and Turnover for Male and Female Employees, Journal of Vocational Behaviour, April 1985,pp 206-17. Advantages Higher morale Lower absenteeism Longer Length of Service Disadvantages It cannot be implemented at all when the work requires al employees to be present at the same time. It may produce problem to the manger in directing subordinates outside the core time period. Cause confusion where there is shift or interdependent work. Telecommuting Working from home with the help of internet technology is one of the ways of being a part of an organization. Instead of visiting the office daily, the employee is given the option to work from home for some specific duration. It is mainly suitable for research based works, data entry, etc. Advantages Saves time and effort Cost effective No commuting problem Job Sharing It may also be stated as shift working, wherein, 2 persons share same job, say one works in the morning and the other in the afternoon or at night. (Source: Chhabra .T.N.Human Resource Management) 3.1 Conclusion Quality of work life covers various aspects under the general umbrella of supportive organizational behavior. QWL has gained deserved prominence in the Organizational Behavior as an indicator of the overall of human experience in the work place. It expresses a special way of thinking about people, their work and the organizational in which careers are fulfilled.