MPA 871 Public Personnel Administration PDF

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA FACULTY OF MANAGEMENTSCIECES COURSE GUIDE Course Code: MPA 871 Course Title: Public Personnel Administration Course Writers: Prof. Ibrahim Omale...

NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA FACULTY OF MANAGEMENTSCIECES COURSE GUIDE Course Code: MPA 871 Course Title: Public Personnel Administration Course Writers: Prof. Ibrahim Omale (Prince Abubakar Audu University) Head of Department: Dr. (Mrs.) Nwamaka P. Ibeme (National Open University of Nigeria) Dean of Faculty: Prof. Wilfred I. Uwuyani (National Open University of Nigeria) Departmental Coordinator: Dr. Musa Zakari Course Material Review (National Open University of Nigeria) Reviewers: Dr. Amangwai Josiah Monday Federal University Lafia Dr. Mark Ochala, (National Open University of Nigeria) © 2022 by NOUN Press National Open University of Nigeria Headquarters University Village Plot 91, Cadastral Zone Nnamdi Azikiwe Expressway Jabi, Abuja Lagos Office 14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island, Lagos URL: www.nou.edu.ng Published By: National Open University of Nigeria Printed: 2022 ISBN: 978-978-058-293-7 All Rights Reserved Introduction MPA871 Public Personnel Management is a 2-credit course for Masters in Public Administration (MPA) students within Public Administration programme. It is one of the courses taken by students offering M.Sc Public Administration degree. To be a successful student in distance learning you must be self-disciplined, independent, and possess initiative. You are advised to read the study material before you begin your study. MPA 871 builds on the Personnel courses studied at the undergraduate level and for the experience acquired in the handling of personnel functions in the places of work where you might have been exposed. Here we will learn about the theory and practice of personnel management especially, as practiced in the Nigerian Public context. The practice questions at the end of each unit take the form of self-assessment exercises in which you can practice what you have learnt. MPA 871, as presented here, has 23 units in four modules as its course content. The Course Aim The course aims at helping students acquire more advanced theories of personnel management to improve their understanding of concepts and theories learnt and known in the past. It also aims at placing whatever personnel functions you have performed or are now performing in its proper theoretical context. In general, the course is intended to give the student a proper and firmer grip of all the essential elements of personnel management in theory and practice. Measurable Learning Outcomes Upon successful completion of the modules, you will be able to: 1. Explain what public personnel management is, where it started and how it has evolved to the stage it is now. 2. Distinguish between the theories and practice of public personnel management and how environment impacts on theories. 3. Distinguish between the process of obtaining and that of maintaining a satisfactory and a satisfied work force. 4. Acquire theories and techniques of applying them 5. Explain what each of the critical functions are 6. Apply in practice the critical functioning of personnel management Course Guide MPA 871 - Public Personnel Management is a course that exposes students to the theories of personnel management and applies them to the public sector. Where theories in the strict sense of the concept do not exist, the course defines concepts, e.g. refinement, job specifications, compensation, etc. as they are available in personnel management literature and states how those are applied in the Nigerian Public Sector. The titles of the twenty-three study units in four modules are shown herein below. Self-Assessment-Exercise (SAEs) Self-assessment Exercises each are incorporated in the study material for each unit. Self- assessment Exercise helps students to be realistic judges of their own performance and to improve their work. It promotes the skills of reflective practice and self-monitoring; promotes academic integrity through student self-reporting of learning progress; develops self-directed learning; increases student motivation and helps students develop a range of personal, transferrable skills. Summary Each Unit contains a summary of the entire unit. A summary is a brief statement or restatement of main points, especially as a conclusion to a work, a summary of a chapter. A brief is a detailed outline, by heads and subheads, of a discourse to be completed. Possible Answers to Self-Assessment Exercise(s) within the content The study materials contain possible answers to Self-Assessment Exercise(s) within the content. The possible Self-assessments answers enable you to understand how well you are performing in the contents. It is a way of analysing your work performance and any areas for growth. Reflecting on your strengths, weaknesses, values and accomplishments can help you determine what goals to work toward next. Course Material This course material package comprises of following Modules and units structure: MODULE ONE UNIT 1 Origin, evolution, definition and place of personnel management in organizations UNIT 2 Location of personnel management in organizations UNIT 3 Planning of organization’s human resources UNIT 4 Recruitment and recruitment policies and methods UNIT 5 Staff selection process MODULE TWO UNIT 1 Internal selections UNIT 2 Career systems UNIT 3 Compensation UNIT 4 Fringe benefits UNIT 5 Employee performance appraisal MODULE THREE UNIT 1 Training UNIT 2 Management Development UNIT 3 Motivation Theories UNIT 4 Employee/Industrial Relations UNIT 5 Collective bargaining MODULE FOUR UNIT 1 Ethics in public service UNIT 2 Decision-Making UNIT 3 Conflict management UNIT 4 Leadership: Study and theories UNIT 5 Leadership: From the perspective of the subordinate MODULE FIVE UNIT 1 Disciplinary action UNIT 2 Separation 1 (Tenure and Turnover) UNIT 3 Separation 2 (Retirement) MODULE ONE UNIT 1 ORIGIN, EVOLUTION, DEFINITION AND PLACE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS Unit Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Learning Outcomes 1.3 Origin of Personnel Management 1.4 The evolution of Personnel Management 1.5 Definition and Scope of Personnel Management 1.6 Summary 1.7 References/Further Readings/Web Resources 1.8 Possible Answer to Self-Assessment Exercise 1.1 Introduction Having gone through the course guide, you are by now aware of what we intend to cover in this course. This unit is to establish the foundation for it. In it we give the origin, the evolution and the definition of management. 1.2 Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: Define personnel management Identify its origin Trace its evolution over time 1.3 Origin of Personnel Management The origin of personnel management is the same as that of all managements. At the beginning of management practice, everything was done without the niceties of the subdivisions we now have today, e.g. public administration, business management, financial management, personnel management etc. Be this as it may, we shall attempt to trace the origin of management including personnel management and later isolate personnel management and trace its evolution. Paul Mali, in his work - Management Handbook, says that "...the process of getting things done through people" and the various practices which make it up have been around almost since the dawn of time. He said, next, that the art or sciences of planning and control, materials scheduling system, organizational hierarchy, were behind the construction of the pyramids in Egypt in the years 5000 - 1600 BC. He also said that the science of span of control is said to be the invention of Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, in the year 1491 BC. You will note here that when Paul Mali talks of management as getting things done through people, which is what it is, personnel i.e. people, plays a centre stage. Therefore, we can say personnel administration also dates as far back as the dawn of time. 1.4 The evolution of Personnel Management Although there has always been a human side to general management what characterizes modern management and distinguishes it from its historical antecedents, is the fact that the latter paid little attention to the human side i.e., personnel management. Paul Mali notes that from the period of the construction of the pyramids to the early years of the Industrial Revolution in England, i.e. from 5000 BC to the years 1700 -1785 AD, the handling of men at work was characterized by slavery and repression. In order to give you a vivid picture of the type of slavery and repression with which the human side of enterprise was treated, let us cite an instance of what happened in England in even as late as the year 1799. In 1799, the lawmakers decreed that any workman, who conspired with any other workman to extort an increase of wages, or decrease in hours, was liable to three months in jail. Further, if any workman so much as attend a meeting called for the purpose of plotting such extortions, or if he urged any other workman to attend such a meeting, or if he gave aid to the family of any worker convicted for attending such a meeting,... then he was likewise liable to three months (Milayn.a. rd, Top Management Hand Book P.62). Today, however, because of civilization, better laws pertaining to trade unions, the works of management scholars such as Douglas Abraham Maslow, etc, the human side of enterprises by which we mean personnel management has reached a stage far above its origin of slavery and repression. 1.5 Definition and scope definition of Personnel Management You will discover in the course of your programme that many concepts and terms in the management sciences have slightly varying definitions depending upon who is defining them. Personnel management, which is our concern here, takes place in differing environments or milieu. For example, we are here concerned with personnel management in the public sector, i.e. in the environment of government organizations. You are most probably aware that personnel management also takes place in the private sector, i.e. in organizations not owned by the government, e.g. the Lever Brothers Plc. makers of Omo washing powder, the Cadbury Nigeria Plc makers Bournvita, etc. Because we are aware of all these, we shall provide you a number of definitions so that you can choose anyone you want to depending upon the context or environment of your speech or your writing. One of such definitions which we have put together after going through so many texts is this: Personnel Management is the process of obtaining and maintaining a satisfactory and a satisfied work force. To put the whole subject matter in a box as small as this means that it has been compressed to make it possible for you to carry it with you in a small package. In this package there are two distinct sub-packages, namely: - the process of obtaining a satisfactory work force and the process of maintaining a satisfied work force. Each of the sub-packages has many functions, which we shall be examining one after another in subsequent units. For example, the process of obtaining a satisfactory work force contains the following sub-processes: - recruitment, examination of those who have applied for jobs, interviewing them, offering own acceptance of the jobs and assuming duties, their being inducted into the organization and placed on specific jobs in given sections of the organization. Much later in their lives in the organization their being sent for training for better performance and bigger responsibilities in the organization, etc. The sub-package which we have identified as maintaining a satisfied work force. Each of the sub-packages has many functions, which we shall be examining one after another in subsequent units. For example, the process of obtaining a satisfactory work force contains the following sub-processes: - recruitment, examination of those who have applied for jobs, interviewing them, offering own acceptance of the jobs and assuming duties, their being inducted into the organization and placed on specific jobs in given sections of the organization. Much later in their lives in the organization their being sent for training for better performance and bigger responsibilities in the organization, etc. 13 The sub-package which we have identified as maintaining a satisfied work force also has its own numerous functions e.g. the payment of salaries and wages as and when due, the provision of houses or allowances in lieu of houses, the case for their health, the putting in place of methods for their advancement or promotion, motivation in order to give the staff reason to desire to love the work they do and to do more etc. As you have seen that this first definition we have given here is "packed" with many ideas and functions, so you will see that a second definition we offer next is "packed". The following definition was proffered by a well-respected personnel management theorist by name Edwin B. Filippo, in his popular and widely read book,', Personnel Management,' 'which he has issued now for at least the sixth time. This definition is contained in the Edition issued in 1984. There he defined personnel management thus: Personnel Management is the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling of the procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance, and separation of human resource to the end that individual, organizational and societal objectives are accomplished. You will notice that this second definition is by far longer than the first. Here, a number of functions which are performed or which you will perform if you find your-self in the position of a personnel manager are listed. Let us list and describe them briefly, much briefer than did Flippo, in order to show you what they mean and why they are significant to the subject of personnel management. Planning According to Flippo, this means "...the determination in advance of a personnel program that will contribute to goals established for enterprise". What this means is that, assuming you were the manager in a ministry, you will be required to map out and present the personnel requirement of either a new project or an enlargement of existing activity in advance of the project or the increase in its performance. Organizing - This, in the words of Flippo, entails "... designing the structure of relationships among jobs, personnel, and physical factors" Directing Flippo say that the function of "direction" from which this action word directing comes, "... may be called by other names, such as 'motivation' or 'actuation' or 'command'. He then leads us to sum up that it entails "......... getting people to work willingly and effectively". Controlling Again, to quote Flippo "control is the managerial function concerned with regulating activities in accordance with personnel plan, which in turn was formulated on the basis of an analysis of organization goals" Flippo refers to the four functions above as "managerial functions personnel management". The following six, he refers to as operative functions of personnel management". Procurement, Flippo calls this the "first operative function of personnel management "and that it is "...concerned with the obtaining of the proper kind and number of personnel necessary to accomplish organization goals". This, as you will notice is similar to the sub-package we classified under the process of obtaining a satisfactory work force in the first definition. As we said there, Flippo says here, that procurement “...deals specifically with such subjects as the determination of human resources requirements and their recruitment, selection, and placement". Development, Flippo says that "After personnel have been obtained, they must be to some degree developed. Development has to do with the increase of skill. Through training that is necessary for proper job performance. He says further that "this is an activity of very great importance and continues to grow because of the changes in technology, the realignment of jobs, and the increasing complexity of the managerial task". Integration, this is the words of Flippo, "is concerned with the attempt to effect a reasonable reconciliation of individual, societal, and organizational interests". Compensation This Flippo says is "...defined as the adequate and equitable remuneration of personnel for their contributions to organization objectives". Maintenance You remember the sub-package we labelled as a process of maintaining a satisfied work force in our first definition? This is it. Flippo says "if we have executed the foregoing functions well, we now have a willing and able work force. He says "Maintenance is concerned with the perpetuation of this state. Issues related to the maintenance of this state are issues as communication with employees and concern about their health conditions”. Separation Finally, and according to Flippo, "if the first function of personnel management is to secure the employee, it is logical that the last should be the separation and return to society". He says "most people do not die on the job. The organization is responsible for meeting certain requirements of due process in separation, as well as assuring that the retired citizen is in good shape. Self-Assessment Exercise Define personnel management and briefly explain some of its functions. 1.6 Summary This unit has covered the origin of personnel management, its evolution and has provided its definition. Two definitions have been given and functions, processes of personnel management have been outlined. 1.7 References/Further Readings/Web Resources Flippo Edwin B (1984), Personnel Management (Sixth Edition) McGraw Hill Book Company, New York 1.8 Possible Answers to SAEs Define personnel management and briefly explain some of its functions. Personnel Management is the process of obtaining and maintaining a satisfactory and a satisfied work force. It involves planning, organizing, directing, controlling, procurement, development, compensation, integration, maintenance, and separation of human resource to the end that individual, organizational and societal objectives are accomplished. All these functions are carried out through the coordination of the people (personnel) in the organization towards achieving its goals. UNIT 2 LOCATION OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN ORGANIZATIONS Unit Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Learning Outcomes 1.3 What we mean by location 1.4 The office of the permanent secretary as a personnel office 1.5 Summary 1.6 References/Further Readings/Web Resources 1.7 Possible Answer to Self-Assessment Exercise 1.1Introduction Personnel functions, the performance of which constitutes personnel management are all pervasive in the organization. The supervisor and the manager in any particular unit perform one type or the other of functions. The top executive does some of them. This unit is to "pin down" where and what functions are performed and by whom. 1.2 Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: i. Examine the Locate personnel management (functions) in the organization ii. Draw an organizational chart indicating the location of personnel management iii. Define line and staff (concepts) 1.3 What we mean by location Personnel management as you have seen from the definition in unit l is a process, in a function, and to talk of it as being located in an organization may not be readily understood. What we mean is a response to the usual management question of what, where, who, when, etc. Our discussion of location here will attempt to answer the question of where and who. Where, in the concept of line and staff is personnel management performed; who, of staff functionaries vis-àvis line functionaries, does what aspect of personnel work, etc. In order to make these issues clear to you, we have to examine fully, the concept of line and staff. 1.3.1 Line and staff Line and staff is a concept which has its origin in the army. In the days when most of warfare was done by the infantry, i.e. soldiers on foot, opposing forces faced each other with a dividing line between them. All the troops engaged in battle on either side of the line are line personnel. Because they have to be on the line fighting, certain other personnel, e.g. medical personnel, transport personnel, accounts personnel, etc must be available to take care of medical, transportation and financial needs. These other personnel are staff personnel. Putting this concept in the realm of personnel management outside the army, a public personnel scholar, O. Glenn Stahl (1962) said: - "... according [to the line and staff concept], the functions for which the organization was created - carrying the mail, putting out fires, running a mental institution - are the line functions, and those existing as the result of creating the organization - personnel management, financial control, supply services are "staff". Making the distinction clearer, O. Glenn Stahl says further: "It follows from this construct that the functions are paramount and that the staff must serve the line. Staff is therefore advisory and should not control, while line is the 'doing' side of the operation and should not be inhibited but only helped by the staff activity". We shall give yet another example so that this concept which is often grossly misunderstood becomes clear to you. The misunderstanding is more practiced and among staff functionaries who assume superiority over line functionaries. You are familiar with the university system. A university's main function is teaching students. Here, the line personnel, those who are engaged in the "doing" side of university function are the lecturers. Those who exist as a result of creating the university, i.e.; the registry personnel, the personnel, the bursary personnel, the canteen personnel, the medical [to the line and staff concept], the functions for which the organization was created - carrying the mail, putting out fires, running a mental institution - are the line functions, and those existing as the result of creating the organization - personnel management, financial control, supply services are "staff". Making the distinction clearer, O. Glenn Stahl says further: "It follows from this construct that the functions are paramount and that the staff must serve the line. Staff is therefore advisory and should not control, while line is the 'doing' side of the operation and should not be inhibited but only helped by the staff activity". We shall give yet another example so that this concept which is often grossly misunderstood becomes clear to you. The misunderstanding is more practiced and among staff functionaries who assume superiority over line functionaries. You are familiar with the university system. A university's main function is teaching students. Here, the line personnel, those who are engaged in the "doing" side of university function are the lecturers. Those who exist as a result of creating the university, i.e.; the registry personnel, the bursary personnel, the canteen personnel, the medical personnel, etc, are "staff' functionaries and are advisory and should not control. It is by now clear that according to the line and staff concept, personnel management is a "staff" and not a "line" function. O. Glenn Stahl states this clearly when he says:” Hence the only test for the propriety and adequacy of the personnel function as one of the staff duties, would be its degree of support and service to the original functions of the organization". This is why he says, "It is common place to hear the assertion that personnel administration is not an end in itself'. We want at this juncture to caution that you do not put a hard and fast rule around the division between line and staff. Also that you do not because of what we have said above, look down on staff or personnel functions - O. Glenn Stahl puts this caution this way: "...it is [not] wise to insist that by definition, a staff duty is subservient to a line duty. Many a principle must be maintained even if it interferes at the moment with the desires of a particular line official ---- presumably because the personnel goal is serving a larger and longer range of government than is the immediate success of the activity supervised by that official". The enormity and importance of personnel management especially in its ensuring the application of uniform policies, have made it more important that most individual line functions. Concluding his discussion on this concept, O. Glenn Stahl states: "The management of 9,000,000 persons who constitute [at that time] the federal, state and local civilian bureaucracy in America is a most significant government function. It has indeed become almost an end in itself, ranking close in importance to the national defence. the management of communication and transportation, the conservation of resources, the conduct of public It is by now clear that according to the line and staff concept, personnel management is a "staff" and not a "line" function. O. Glenn Stahl states this clearly when he says:” Hence the only test for the propriety and adequacy of the personnel function as one of the staff duties, would be its degree of support and service to the original functions of the organization". This is why he says, "It is common place to hear the assertion that personnel administration is not an end in itself'. We want at this juncture to caution that you do not put a hard and fast rule around the division between line and staff. Also that you do not because of what we have said above, look down on staff or personnel functions - O. Glenn Stahl puts this caution this way: "...it is [not] wise to insist that by definition, a staff duty is subservient to a line duty. Many a principle must be maintained even if it interferes at the moment with the desires of a particular line official ---- presumably because the personnel goal is serving a larger and longer range of government than is the immediate success of the activity supervised by that official". The enormity and importance of personnel management especially in its ensuring the application of uniform policies, have made it more important that most individual line functions. Concluding his discussion on this concept, O. Glenn Stahl states: "The management of 9,000,000 persons who constitute [at that time] the federal, state and local civilian bureaucracy in America is a most significant government function. It has indeed become almost an end in itself, ranking close in importance to the national defense. the management of communication and transportation, the conservation of resources, the conduct of public education, and the direction off foreign affairs…”. 1.3.2 Organizational location of the personnel unit By now you must have noticed that personnel functions are pervasive in the organization. This has to be so because there is not part of the organization that does not have personnel. Wherever a person is, he has all issues that deserves the personnel management. For example, he is paid for the work he does, he is attended to when ill. he is given leave when due, his work is supervised and assessed etc. Despite its ubiquity however, there are units in which certain personnel functions are performed. In order to make this issue clear to you; we shall be using the Nigeria civil service as a case study. Many organizations have their personnel management functions carried out in two units. The first unit is what O. Glenn Stahl refers to as the "central personnel Agency". The second is the "Operation Personnel Office". We shall start with the central personnel Agency. 1.3.3 The central personnel agency As you can see from the name, the Central Personnel Agency is one that has responsibility for organization wide function. In the Nigerian government and quite a number of other environments, e.g. the United State of America, it is known as the Civil Service Commission. Its functions, especially in the U.S.A, have been a product of evolution. As stated by O. Glenn Stahl, "under the impetus of the civil service reform wave which broke in the central personnel agencies were created in the Federal Government and in several state and municipal jurisdictions, with the primary aim of freeing the public servant from allegiance to and dependence upon the politician". This means that before civil service commission were established, the method of becoming a civil servant and remaining so was solely through the political spoils system. Initially, therefore, the civil service commission were designed, in the work of Stahl, "as 'politics eliminators' * and little more". It is because it was originally introduced as “politics eliminator” that its composition (i.e. the number and kinds of people appointed a civil service commissions) is, in the U.S.A., be 'partisan. There, the law provides for three commissioners, not more than two of whom may be members of the same political party. In order to further play down the role of partisan politics, Stahl says ".... in order to prevent the executive who has the appointing power from 'packing' the commission, it is usually provided that commission members shall serve years each, one being named every two years". Problems of the Nigerian Civil Service Commission The Udoji Commission has an impressive catalogue of what one might call structural problems of the Civil Service Commission. One of such problems is that of isolation of the Civil Service Commission from the operating Ministries/Departments. Quite a number of people are of the opinion that operating units should be given power of hiring, motivating, and firing, over the staff who work for them, in the same way as it is done in the private sector. One thing such "thinkers" are oblivious of is the fact that in the public service, most, if not all the top executives are, and perhaps have to be, partisan. And being partisan, given the power to hire and fire, their partisanship will influence performance of such functions. Indeed, elimination of politics is the reason for the Civil Service Commission and will always remain the most plausible reason for retaining it, and as an extra-ministerial outfit. Another problem is that of "sheer volume of work" at its hands and the size and calibre of its membership. Over the years the Civil Services increased in size and complexity which increases have not been matched by corresponding increases in size and expertise of the members of the Civil Service Commissions. There is need to increase the size of the Commission from the traditional three permanent members to one, perhaps twice as large, and one with members representing various professional and political interests. However, these structural problems are less of a problem than the procedural and behavioural problems of the Commission which do not readily meet the eyes of an onlooker but only those of an interested participant observer. One such problem is that of its custody and use of one of its most important tool for staff promotion and discipline - the performance evaluation report. The procedure for completion and submission of these reports was such that it left a lot of room for fraudulent practices. The commission had, for example, no way of knowing the names and ascertaining the signatures of the officers responsible for completing and countersigning the reports in the various Ministries. Under such a situation, an officer could get any "friendly" senior officer to complete the form on him and get it submitted to the Commission. The malpractice was made easier to perpetrate by the frequent and constant movements of staff from Ministry to Ministry and thus frequent changes in superior and subordinate officers in the Ministries. Another problem connected with the evaluation reports was the use of three consecutive years' reports for consideration for promotion or punishment. Again, perhaps due to the large number of these reports and the inadequacies of storage facilities as well as lack of knowledge of procedures, the incidence of missing reports were rife. And when reports were missing, substitutes had to be written in arrears and, of course, even where they were written by the same officers, they were certain not to contain numerical the same "facts" as the lost ones. Invariably, however, the officers who wrote the original ones would not be available to write the substitutes and so they would have to be written by officers under whom the officer reported or never worked at the material time, and this occasioned fake reports. A third problem with respect to these reports is that, with the connivance of clerical staff, officers who have adverse reports could retrieve them from the Civil Service Commission and replace them with favourable ones which they get written for them by "friendly" top officers. What all these problems aside was also the tools in which the Commission used to assess officers for promotion and or discipline was subject to "fakery" in very many ways. The consequences of this could have been advancement of those who least deserved it and the failure to sanction those who deserved sanction. It is not possible to assess the magnitude of such malpractice but when this is added to the falsification of performance rating which arises as a result of fear or favour, or lack of knowhow in the appraisal of staff, one might be correct to attribute much of the mediocrity inefficiency in the Civil Service to these phenomena. The Ministry of Establishment In Nigeria, the role of the Civil Service Commission in personnel management is limited to employment, promotion and discipline. All other personnel functions e.g., determination of conditions of service, formulation and review of the Civil Service Rules. determination of staff strength, position classification and wage administration, staff training, and development, etc., are not its concern but those of the Ministry of Establishment or the Establishment Division of the Office of the Head of Service (where it is not a Ministry). The existence of two separate bodies handling one piece of job by a corporate entity constitutes a problem. What this means is that the body which is in charge of determining what vacancies there should be, or that there are, and which body knows the urgency with which has the knowledge of the training needs of the Service (as is supposed to be contained in the performance evaluation report). It also means that the person who trains is to play in the promotion of officers particularly in the senior (administrative) positions. For a given cadre of staff, i.e., those controlled by the Ministry/ Division, e.g., executive officers, secretarial staff, senior clerical staff, etc., the body which interviews and employs, and thus knows the strengths and weaknesses, the likes and dislikes of new entrants, is not the body to place them on jobs. No wonder we have so many square pegs in round holes. If the example of the USA is worth going by, after it had tried the Civil Service Commission with the limited functions of employment, promotion and discipline, it later rationalized and professionalized its Civil Service Commission, giving it expanded functions which "...cover(ed) recruitment, examination, job evaluation, training, and the administration of personnel investigations and retirement and issuance systems". 1.4 The office of the permanent secretary as a personnel office The Operating Personnel Office This is the third arm of the tripartite arrangement which handles personnel matters. The personnel function of the Office of each Permanent Secretary in charge of a Ministry consist of the following: Each Ministry has the delegated responsibility for employment, promotion and discipline of all its junior staff, i.e., staff on Grade Level 01-06. Each Permanent Secretary also had the responsibility to report on all senior staff in is Ministry to the Civil Service Commission and to liaise between Ministry and the establishment Ministry Division on staff matters, particularly on staff welfare. With regards to junior staff, the Secretary for Administration and Finance in each Ministry as well as the Staff Officers play a leading role in employment, promotion and discipline. Through the aid of the DAC, (Departmental Appointments Committee) they submit recommendations on any of these functions to the Permanent Secretary for necessary action. The problem with this ministerial, in-house arrangement was that, in employment matters, it hardly pays heed to merit principles. In the first place, the existence of vacant positions is hardly publicized (not to use the term advertised). The best it does when it needs to select new staff is to shortlist candidates for interview from its usually burgeoning file containing unsolicited applications. In the second place, those who get to receive letters of invitation to the employment interviews are mainly relatives and hangers-on as well as house boys of top officials of government. Notes such as "We spoke. Bearer is my in- law's daughter. Please absorb as store-keeper" were the stock-in-trade of Ministries shortly after the budget had been approved and Ministries given the go-ahead to recruit. Another problem with the in- house personnel office is that it is invariably staffed with non-personnel experts. The Secretaries for Administration and Finance who are put in charge of the Ministry's personnel functions are generalist administrative officers who, neither by training nor by experience on the job, can be said to possess any expertise in personnel administration, the staff officers with little, if any, passion for staff. Most of the negative attitude to work and to the public which characterize the lower echelon of the Civil Service is perhaps attributable to the lack of professionalism with which the in house personnel functions are handled. Self-Assessment Exercise Differentiate line and staff as concepts in personnel management and say which side of the divide it belongs and also say whether it is possible for it to wholly belong to that side. 1.5 Summary This unit has covered the concepts of line and staff; located management mainly as a staff function. It has depicted that position of the central personnel agency which in our context here are identified-, as the civil service commission. You have also seen the other arms of organization particularly if the public sector that performs personnel functions, e.g. the Establishment Ministry or Office, and finally, the operating personnel office are located in each ministry. 1.6 References/Further Readings/Web Resources Shahl, Glenn O. (1962), Public Personnel Administration, (Fifth Edition) Harper & Row Publishers, New York) 1.7 Possible Answer to Self-Assessment Exercise Differentiate line and staff as concepts in personnel management and say which side of the divide it belongs and also say whether it is possible for it to wholly belong to that side. Line and staff as concepts have their origin in the army. In the days when most of warfare was done by the infantry, i.e. soldiers on foot, opposing forces faced each other with a dividing line between them. All the troops engaged in battle on either side of the line are line personnel. Because they have to be on the line fighting, certain other personnel, e.g. medical personnel, transport personnel, accounts personnel, etc must be available to take care of medical, transportation and financial needs. These other personnel are staff personnel. Line personnel are those involved in carrying out the main functions for which the organization was created. While the staff personnel are those involved in providing supportive functions or services to the line staff. Staff is therefore advisory and should not control, while line is the 'doing' side of the operation and should not be inhibited but only helped by the staff activity. However, there is usually a misconception about the concepts. The misunderstanding is more practiced and among staff functionaries who assume superiority over line functionaries. A familiar example is the university system. A university's main function is teaching students. Here, the line personnel, those who are engaged in the "doing" side of university function are the lecturers. Those who exist as a result of creating the university, i.e.; the registry personnel, the bursary personnel, the canteen personnel, the medical personnel are staff personnel. Staff is therefore, advisory and should not control, while line is the 'doing' side of the operation and should not be inhibited but only helped by the staff activity. In the light of the above, it is clear that according to the line and staff concept, personnel management is a "staff" and not a "line" function. It is good to caution that one does not put a hard and fast rule around the division between line and staff. And also that one should not look down on staff or personnel functions. Staff cannot be placed wholly on its divide, because there is an interplay between it and the line in certain functions. UNIT 3 PLANNING THE ORGANISATION'S HUMAN RESOURCES Unit Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Learning Outcomes 1.3 Planning the Organization’s Human Resources 1.3.1 Human resource planning 1.3.2 Manpower inventory 1.4 Forecast of future manpower requirements 1.5 Summary 1.6 References/Further Readings/Web Resources 1.7 Possible Answer to Self-Assessment Exercise 1.1 Introduction Manpower planning is at the root of the process of obtaining a satisfactory work force for an organization. The planning we are concerned with here is a method for determining the manpower requirements in an organization and developing action plans for meeting them. 1.2 Learning Outcome By the end of this unit, you should be able to: i. Define human resource planning ii. Explain the concept of Manpower inventory iii. Discuss the Forecast of future manpower requirements 1.3 Organization’s Human Resources - Human resource planning 1.3.1 Definition As we said and did in unit 2, the definition of this term, you will notice differs slightly from author to author and we shall give a number of them. Before we begin the definition of human resource planning, let us state that we shall be using this term interchangeably with manpower planning. Also, as we did in unit 2, let us start our definition from the one we are most familiar with. Manpower planning defined as the: "process by which a firm ensures that it has the right numbers and kinds of people, in the right place, at the right time, doing the right things for which they are economically most useful." Manpower planning is essentially a method for determining future manpower requirements and developing action plans for meeting them. Three processes are involved in this namely: - Manpower inventory, manpower forecast and manpower plans. We shall take you through what all these mean. G. A. Cole, in his book Personnel Management theory and practice (1997) defines Human Resources Planning at the glossary of Management terms pages as: "A technique aimed at securing and improving an organization's human resources to meet present and future needs, three principal stages can be distinguished: Evaluation of existing resources, forecast of future requirements and, finally, action plan. 1.3.2 Manpower inventory Manpower inventory consists of data which describe the present work force in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Citing an example of what this could look like in practice and which we do how now to make it more real to you for understanding, we said: "What is required for example, a Ministry Education, having a complete and comprehensive staff list of all teachers, all their qualifications, their performances and potentials, and where deployed". Making a more detailed analysis of this concept, G.A. Cole, who raises the following questions: typical questions that managers need to ask when assessing the state of their internal labour market Is as follows: Job Categories: - What categories of staff do we have? (e.g. process workers etc.) Number: - How many people do we have in each category? Skills: - What skills are available amongst existing employees? Performance: - What levels of performance are we getting from our various categories of employees? Flexibility: - How easy is it to transfer employees between jobs? Are individual skills transferable? What about trade union views on this point? Promotability: - How many of our employees are ready for promotion into more demanding roles? What training could be reasonably provided to assist promotion? Age Profiles: - Do we have any age related problems due to between experienced and inexperienced staff? Sex - Have we an appropriate balance between the sexes, given the requirements of our business? Minority groups: - Are minority groups properly represented in workforce? Leavers: - What is our labour turnover rate by staff category and/departments? How many people are due for retirement? Are any redundancies likely? How many people left for reasons of dissatisfaction? Are any trends noticeable? G. A. C ole concludes by saying that: "Answers to the above questions can provide a reliable picture of the state of the organization's own labour force. The resulting information can be matched with the demand forecast for labour in the various categories identified by the management. 1.4 Forecast of future manpower requirements Forecasting of human resources requirements is often subdivided into longer range and short range forecasts. The latter type is almost unavoidable in most firms, but a survey of 589 members of American society of Personnel Administration revealed that only 32 percent reported any long-range planning of human resources needs in their organizations". We shall at this point, state what goes into both short-range and long- range human resources forecasting Short-range human resources forecasting. The first factor for human resources forecasting, is the specific volume of work for the coming year. Thus, the forecast of manpower requirement should be related to "... plans... made concerning the amount of work that each segment of the firm is expected to accomplish during some coming period". Various techniques can be used in making a short term projection of both the amount of work to be done and the number of personnel necessary to do it. The following are some of them. Time series analysis - this can be used to identify trends in the past. Computing of various ratios, e.g. number of sales personnel in relation to the level of sales, or the telephones in relation to the number of customer service representatives. When this is done, the number of new sales personnel to be added can be derived from the projected increase in sales, assuming that everything else remains constant. Estimating the number of people required is usually undertaken in one or more ways. One of the ways is ".....exercising managerial judgment". In a typical work organization, the single most important element in forecasting personnel requirements is managerial judgment. The way this is done is "individual managers, in the light of (a) knowledge of events and (b) personnel in their own areas of responsibility, draw up their own estimates of their requirements". Other methods are the use of statistical techniques and another, the application of Work study techniques such as "Work Management, Method Study and O & M (organization and method) which can be helpful in identifying the number of people required to achieve certain tasks. In a long-range human resources forecasting, the factors that you will have to note which influence long-range human resources forecasting are:- The organization's long-range plans - This relates to the human resources (in future) to what organization has decided to do at a given time in future. A company which deals in a certain product now and which has planned to change to another product line, makes a human resources forecast that is in consonance with such a decision. Other factors are demographic, economic, technological and social in nature. Out of these, the one that is of immediate concern is probably technology. Advances in technology have definite effects on the nature and mixture of jobs available. For example, advances in computer technology resulted in a decrease in the number of book-keepers, and an increase in the number of computer programmes. As has been pointed out, in any enterprises, large or small, private or public, one of the most important branches of management is personnel administration. The function of selection, promotion, maintaining morale and efficiency dismissal and the like, in which the commission ordinarily has some share, are part and parcel of this administration. But when functions are carried on by a kind of extra-administrative agency which is all too frequently looked on askance by department heads, situation arises that runs counter to the principles of sound management. Self-Assessment Exercise What effects do any two of the following factors have in an organization's human resource profile: - age, sex, promotability, minority groups - relate your answer to the Nigerian situation. 1.4 Summary This unit has examined the concept of human resource planning in organizations. It has dealt with the concepts of manpower planning, which comes after an inventory of resources and based upon which a forecast of future need is made. 1.5 References/Further Readings/Web Resources references Cole, G.A (1997), Personnel Management Theory and Practice (Fourth Edition) ELST with Letts Educational, London. Flippo, Edwin B (1984), Personnel Management (Sixth Edition) McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. Akinyele, Caleb 1. (eds) (1992), New Trends in Personnel Management, Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, Topo Badagry. UNIT 4 RECRUITMENT AND RECRUITMENT POLICIES AND METHODS Unit Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Learning Outcomes 1.3 Recruitment Policies and Methods 1.4 Summary 1.5 References/Further Readings/Web Resources 1.6 Possible Answer to Self-Assessment Exercise 1.1 Introduction This unit focuses on one of the most crucial activities of management - recruitment. As you will see, it is a fairly misunderstood concept by personnel management practitioners. Also as you will because it is the beginning of the processes of procuring staff for organization, it is very important and deserves maximum attention of personnel specialists in organizations. 1.2 Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: 1. Define recruitment 2. Distinguish the concept of recruitment in the context of its theory from the context of its practice 3. Identify all the "markets" open to an organization for recruitment purposes and their limitations 4. Identify and explain the various tools used in the recruitment process 1.3 Recruitment policies and methods 1.3.1 Definition of recruitment Recruitment is a process which starts from getting an applicant interested enough in a job and in a particular organization to write an application, and the process stops when his application has been received in the organization. Recruitment is the salesmanship which organizations do for themselves and the various jobs they have for filling". This definition of recruitment is contained in what G. A Cole, in his book on Personnel Management: Theory and Practice says about recruitment. He said, "The principal purpose of recruitment activities is to attract sufficient and suitable potential employees to apply for vacancies in the organization". He thereafter distinguished this process from the very next step to recruitment i.e. selection, by saying, "The principal purpose of selection activities, by comparison, is to identify the most suitable applicants and persuade them to accept a position in the organization". O. Glenn Stahl sums it all up when he says: "The goal of recruiting activities is the production of an adequate number of qualified applicants for employment. Recruitment ends with an application. We shall conclude this issue of definition by giving you what Omale says in contrasting it with what happens in the Nigerian Public service. He said: The civil service hardly sees recruitment in its proper perspective. In the civil service; recruitment is tantamount to employment, i.e. all that it takes to get an applicant interested in a job in the organization, through examining or interviewing him, to issuing him a letter of appointment. The misunderstanding of the concept of recruitment in the civil service might be one of the reasons why the recruitment process is not given the attention it deserves. 1.3.2 The field of recruitment O. Glenn Stahl, in his book Public Personnel Administration (1962) talks about the field of recruitment in the public sector as "The area open to public recruiting agencies". An organization desires to create a market from where to recruit staff, takes steps to "sell" itself to potential employees only when people are not willing to take up appointment with it. Depending upon people's perception of an organization or a service, such organization or service may find it difficult to attract potential employees. In the U.S.A at one point in time, according to O. Glenn Stahl, "....... public service recruiting was a shadow, Business was a good, government an evil. It was to business that social prestige attached. It was there that your people of ability naturally looked for a career". Those of you in your 50s now will remember that in the middle 60s to the middle 70s. Government was the first choice of employment for your people of ability. This situation contrasts very sharply to today's scenario where university graduates with 2nd class and above degrees do not go government offices for employment. Their first choices are the oil companies, the banks, and other business houses. This leaves government choosing employees from 3rd class degree holders and drop outs universities. It is this type of situation that makes recruitment a function in personnel management. So, what are the areas open to public recruiting agencies and what are their limitations? (a) The Schools; Schools are the largest markets from which the public as well as private agencies Main their work force. You are aware of the various levels - primary, secondary (made up of secondary grammar and secondary technical schools) and the tertiary level at which we have universities, polytechnics and colleges of education where primary and secondary school teachers are prepared. Availability of potential employees in the school system thus depends on their areas of emphasis. If, for example, the system closes down its colleges of education, as it did its Grade Two teacher training schools a few years ago, the availability of potential employees as teachers is affected. (b) Citizenship; ordinarily, potential employees in the public sector service of a country is limited to its citizens. The area open to public agencies for recruitment is the generality of its citizenship, although limitation relating to place of origin and age does limit the size of potential employees. (c) Place of origin; It is usual, in order to prevent "monopoly" of jobs by only particular sector of society to require that jobs be spread. To do this requires representation by all areas concerned and therefore, even if the best potential employee comes from a given place, if it is not the turn of the place, or if the place has exhausted its share, this imitation on it. Perhaps you are aware of the Nigerian character principle and the quota system. This is what they refer to. It may interest you to know that this type of practice is not peculiar to Nigeria. Glenn Stahl says that the fact that "... the apportionment provisions of the federal civil service law, (requires) distribution of appointments in proportion to state population" is an operation of restriction on the basis of residence (or place of birth). (d) Age limits; Although the entire citizenry of Nigeria provides the market potential employees, not ever y Nigerian is employable on the basis of age limits. Currently no one below the age of 16 may be employed in government. Also, no one above 50 years may be given a tenure job in the civil service. Tenure job is a concept we shall be discussing later in this course. The other factors that affect, by limiting the recruitment market, are preferences given to certain groups in jobs. In the U.S.A. veterans are given preference in certain jobs. Also, sometime in the past sex barriers existed to preclude females from jobs. The removal of such barriers has broadened the market. 1.4 The Methods of Recruitment The traditional methods of recruitment are advertisements in newspapers. the pasting of notices on bulletin boards of public buildings and other centers of congregation. and circulating information to individuals, organizations, and institutions that might be expected to be in touch with suitable applicants. During the recruitment activities the organization will: (1) advertise all vacancies (2) reply to every job applicant with the minimum of delay (3) aim to inform potential recruits in good faith about the basic details and job conditions of every job advertised (4) aim to process all applications with efficiency and courtesy (5) seek candidates on the basis of their qualification for the vacancy concerned (6) aim to ensure that every person invited for interview will be given a fair and thorough hearing. The organization will not; (1) discriminate unfairly against potential applicants on grounds of sex, race, religion or physical disability. (2) Discriminate unfairly against applicants with a criminal record (3) Knowingly make any false or exaggerated claims in its recruitment literature or job advertisements. Item number 2 (immediately above) making reference to criminal records in respect of pardoned criminals. You will notice and likely be amazed at the details the literature recruitment has gone to extol this function. It has been given such recognition for reason that organizations realize that first rate staff are a critical asset and that first rate applicants are difficult to attract even in times of high rate of unemployment. Self-Assessment Exercise Self-Assessment Exercise 1 i. Give and explain a comprehensive definition of recruitment. ii. List out all the areas of recruitment open to a public agency and discuss three of them stating their limitations. iii. Discuss briefly the methods and procedures involved in recruitment by an organization. 1.5 Summary This unit has taken you from the definition of recruitment through the methods employed in carrying it out to the policies an organization should have in order to have a good image in the job mark and to be a respected employer. 1.6 References/Further Readings/Web Resources Cole, G.A (1997), Personnel Management: Theory and Practice, (ELST) Letts Educational, London Omale, 1 (1992), "Past practices in Personnel Management in the Nigerian Civil Service: Issues and Procedures" in Professor Ali D. Yahaya & Dr Caleb 1. Akinyele (eds) New Trendss in Personnel Management - A Book of Readings,  Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) Topo, Badagry. Stahl, Glenn O (1962), Public Personnel Administration, Harper & Row Publishers, New York. 1.7 Possible Answers to SAEs Discuss briefly the methods and procedures involved in recruitment by an organization. The following could be explained as methods and procedures in recruitment process by an organization: 1. advertise all vacancies ii. reply to every job applicant with the minimum of delay iii. inform potential recruits in good faith about the basic details and job conditions of every job advertised iv. process all applications with efficiency and courtesy v. seek candidates on the basis of their qualification for the vacancy concerned vi. ensure that every person invited for interview will be given a fair and thorough hearing. UNIT 5 STAFF SELECTION PROCESS Unit Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Learning Outcomes 1.3 Selection Process and Procedure 1.4 Examinations 1.5 Criteria for effectiveness of examinations 1.6 Types of Examinations 1.7 Reference Checks 1.8 Physical Examination 1.9 Selection 1.10 Self-Assessment Exercise 1.11 Summary 1.12 References/Further Readings/Web Resources 1.13 Possible Answer to Self-Assessment Exercise 1.1 Introduction Selection is a process in the personnel management field which not too many distinguish as a separate function from recruitment. As we said in unit 4 this failure to see them as separate function is more in the context of personnel management practice than theory. Having given you the meaning, methods and the processes of recruitment in Unit 4, we shall do same thing in respect of the selection process here. 1.2 Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: - Identify the selection process in personnel management Define what staff selection Explain the difference between selection and recruitment Identify various forms of examination - know the situations demanding the use of which type of examination aspects of selection  1.3 Selection Process and Procedure Some writers divide this process into two distinct functions. Omale in his paper we have referred to earlier discusses recruitment as a separate thing from selection of the qualified applicant. On the other hand, G.A. Cole takes the process of selection to identification of the most suitable applicant. The process of identification involves examinations and other parameters established to distinguish one applicant from the other. We should note that there is a clear distinction between recruitment and selection. Recruitment ends with the applications of those who have made a bid (submitted applications) to work in the organization (secure employment). 1.4 Examinations In order to make this aspect of the selection process have the importance you ought to accord it, let us give you two assertions that O. Glenn Stahl made about it. The first one is that "The cornerstone of the public programme is the process of selection by means of competitive examinations, a process.... By (which) means favoritism was to be excluded and the goal of securing the best man for every job achieved. The second one is, "other factors being equal, (examinations) can spell the difference between a topnotch service and a mediocre one. No merit system worthy of the name can afford to take less than a fully professional approach to examining applicants for employment. He ends this advocacy for examinations as a process in the selection of staff by saying, "In today's government, with its world-shaking responsibilities and its vast range of occupations and skills, nothing less than the best examination system ought to be tolerated". Now that we have made you realize the need for examinations selection process. We turn attention to criteria for their effectiveness. 1.5 Criteria for effectiveness of examinations O. Glenn Stahl gives three criteria for the effectiveness of (employment) examinations. The first one is Objectivity. An employment examination is objective if it succeeds in identifying those characteristics of mind and skill necessary to the given purpose. The second criterion is validity. An employment examination is valid if it measures what it purports to measure. A valid examination would rate prospective employees in exactly the same relationship to one another as they would stand after trial on the job. The third criterion is reliability. By reliability we mean the consistency with which the examination serves as a measuring instrument. In the words of Stahl, "if a test is reliable, a person taking it at two different times should make substantially the same score each time". 1.6 Types of Examinations 1.6.1 Systematic Evaluation of Education and Experience If you have never applied for a job, you will know that either you submit an application written by yourself, or you fill out an application form (application blank) and submit to the organization concerned. What make the organization interested in you to invite you for further processes in the bid to employ you would be your education and/or experience. However, in addition to your education and experience playing this role, they could be considered as an examination in themselves. Glenn Stahl puts this point this way. "...the evaluation of education and experience is also a kind examination which can differentiate among candidates as to their degree of fitness for a position or occupation. A good example of how this works is in the appointment of academic staff in universities. An evaluation of their education and experience assigns "weights" to each element of education, e.g. a first degree could be weighted 5 points if it is at a second class lower level and 7 points if second class upper and 10 points if first class; three years teaching experience in university could be weighted 3 points and 5 years experiences, 5 points. Done this way, whether or not the applicants appear before the employer for a further examination, a differentiation can be arrived at amongst competing candidates. 1.6.2 Written Tests O. Glenn Stahl refers to this as "paper-and-pencil tests" and says they are included in examinations for which "aptitudes, intelligence, or concrete knowledge are prime determinants". They are most useful in cases where no experience is required. As a method, they hold greater promise of objectivity than many others. Depending upon the use to which it is put, written tests may be divided into two - the essay and the objective (short answer) type. The essay type, more susceptible to subjectivity than the other type, is used where literary skill is being measured. The short answer type, much easier to administer constructed and less liable to subjectivity, is used in testing intelligence or specific knowledge. 1.6.3 Performance Tests As you can see from its name this test is one that demands amount of the job demonstration of knowledge and especially, skills. O. Glenn Stahl speaks of them thus: "among the tests that may be classed in this group are actual demonstrations on the job (involving use of tools or equipment). What distinguishes them from other types is that they employ some kind performance other than writing or speaking. The most common examples are tests for stenographer, typists, mechanics, drivers, etc. 1.7 Reference Checks Stahl says, that, "candidates may meet all requirements, in terms of education and experience qualifications, have an excellent written test record, and still be unsuitable for employment by reason of character, temperament, quality of performance or similar factors which cannot be fully weighed in the formal testing program". It is for this purpose that reference checks are useful. The most common method is the making of questionnaires to the candidate's former employers or acquaintances. If the numbers of those involved is not too large, it is advisable to do the reference checks before embarking on other valuation processes. However, where the number is large and mainly for managerial positions, such checks are done as a final or close to the final step. 1.8 Physical Examination Edwin Flippo says that "The physical examination is an employment step found in most business (and notes that) it can vary from a comprehensive examination and matching of an applicant's physical capabilities to job requirements to a simple check of general appearance and wellbeing". The first objective of this examination is to ascertain if the applicant is physically capable, e.g., if joining the fire-fighting corps, is his physical examination test eyesight and hearing, etc. The second objective is to safeguard the organization against untimely claims that may arise through deaths of unhealthy new entrants to the organization. The third objective is to prevent communicable diseases from entering the organization. This examination is usually the last step in the selection process and the results of the examination form the first items to be submitted by successful candidate as he is being "documented" prior to induction into the organization. 1.9 Selection It may seem to you out of place for us to now talk of selection at this tail end of a unit whose title is selection. The reason for this is that all we have done so far are processes necessary for this last and most important assignment which is what all the steps above have worked to achieve. The end result of all the above steps except for the medical examination, is to arrive at what is known as a list of eligible. The list of eligible consists of all those who have scored the predetermined pass mark and above. Anyone who has not scored below the prescribed pass mark is eligible for employment. Omale discusses this stage says, because this is an eligible list, anyone picked out of it for employment is a qualified candidate. At this stage of employment, it is advisable that some care be taken to ensure "spread" so that not only one interest is represented. This is the correct usage of an eligible list. Assuming that there are 8 eligible candidates for employment, the next thing to is to conduct a "reference check" on them. If all the 8 are of good standing, I will select the 5 required but I will be advised in this to ensure some element of spread to ensure representation of various interest e.g. sexes, ethnicity, religion. I will send these 5 for medical examination and if they all succeed; I will send them into the organization for documentation. Self-Assessment Exercise What are the necessary steps to take by an organization in the selection process for eligible employees? 1.10 Summary This unit highlighted the process and procedure to follow by an organization in the selection of its new employees. The types of examinations to be administered to the would-be employees were also examined as well as the criteria to observe in the conduct of text examinations. Reference checks, physical examination and selection as concepts were also looked into. 1.11 References/Further Readings/Web Resources Flippo, Edwin B (1984), Personnel Management (sixth edition), McGraw-Hill Book company, New York. - Omale, I "Past Practices in Personnel Management in the Nigerian Civil Service: Issues and Procedures" in Professor Ali D. Yahaya Dr Caleb Akinyele (eds) 1992, New Trends in Personnel Management A Book of Readings, Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) Topo Badagry Stahl. Glenn O. (1962), Public Personnel Administration Harper & Row Publishers, New York. 1.12 Possible Answers to SAE What are the necessary steps to take by an organization in the selection process for eligible employees? The following can be discussed as necessary steps involved in the selection process by an organization: i. Examinations (its types: systematic evaluation of education, written tests, performance tests) ii. Reference checks iii. Physical (appearance) examination  MODULE 2 UNIT 1 INTERNAL SELECTION Unit Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Learning Outcomes 1.3 Definition and Types of Internnal Selection 1.4 Measures and Bases for Promotion 1.5 Transfers and re-assignments 1.6 Summary 1.7 References/Further Readings/Web Resources 1.8 Possible Answer to Self-Assessment Exercise 1.1 Introduction The recruitment and selection processes we considered in the preceding unit are recruitment and selection from outside the service or external recruitment. Through it, vacant positions in the service are filled by bringing in people from outside the service. Internal recruitment fills position in the service with those who are already in the service. The extent to which this recruitment is done and how, is the concern of this unit. 1.2 Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: Define what internal selection is Identify the various types of internal selection processes Explain how each type of internal selection process is carried out 1.3 Definition and Types As you have seen in the preceding unit, when a vacancy occurs in organization, the processes for filling such a vacancy from outside organization starts from the recruitment process. Also as you have seen, that recruitment process has to do with an external (outside the organization) job market. In contrast, when a vacancy occurs and it is the desire of the organization to fill it from within the organization, the external job market is excluded from the process. Internal selection is therefore the process of filling positions in organization by the use of those who are within the organization rather than bringing in new entrants. One initial problem which we ought to guard against is this. In recruitment and selection from outside the organization, we are not so much concerned with the morale of the people in our recruitment field i.e. general public, not beyond maintenance of good publications. In internal selection however, if one amongst many staff on the same level is advanced, except for on the basis of very obvious outstanding performance, the rest may begin to grumble and morale may sag. 1.3.1 Types of internal Selection There is one major type of internal selection and this is promotion. Other forms of internal selection are re-assignments, transfers and one that might not be too wide-spread but very much in practice in Nigeria is posting. It is a variant of re-assignment but because it is a massive and institutionalized variant, it will deserve special variation here. We shall take you through each at a time and explain how it is done. 1.3.2 Promotion Promotion which is the advancement of a serving employee from a lower to a higher position and which usually implies an increase in compensation, is a personnel management function that has to be handled with caution. This is so because of its linkage to morale, motivation and careerism. Stahl says of it "opportunity for advancement and the chance to make the best possible use of one's capacities from one of the wellsprings of human motivation". He further says that "the proper determination of positions which can be filled election of the ablest employees for advancement, the development of employees to their maximum usefulness, and the proper balance between inside and outside recruitment lie at the very heart of good administration". Some organizations have a promotion policy which guarantees advancements to serving employees from time to time. Others have a promotion policy which sees promotion as a general staffing programme, a policy for filling positions with the ablest available talent from within or outside the organization. The problem with the policy of guaranteed period promotion foe employees is that it is capable of placing an overemphasis on seniority. In the words of O. Glenn Stahl: Over emphasis on `years of experience'... plagues many agencies in their effort to achieve objectivity in selections for promotion. Quite often the highly touted '20 years of experience' is merely one year of experience 20 times. Many are the clerks in executive jobs who are still operating them as clerical posts". In-bred promotions are not in themselves bad. What makes them bad are in the words of Stahl. the lack of the following essential ingredients adequate qualification standards for key positions; (2) adequate records and machinery which provide a means for finding the best candidates within the organization; (3) adequate measures of overall competence and potentiality; (4)comprehensive training programmes to keep the staff alert to new developments and to prepare promising men and women for advancement; (5) promotion and transfer across division lines within the organization and thus providing as broad a field of selection and promotion opportunity as possible and (6) clear distinction between clerical jobs, requiring certain manipulative skills and aptitudes, and ability, so that the latter are automatically filled from the ranks of the former but are filled by men with education, the capacity to deal with generalizations as well as with `things' and the gifts to lead and innovate that ought to be expected of all executives. Organizations that have promotion policies that over emphasize the "injection" of new blood through filling vacancies from outside the organization, run the risk of firstly. being unattractive to new entrants at the lower levels. What attracts expert juniors to organizations is the knowledge that higher positions are available to aspire to in the organization. Indeed, without this prospect, the idea of a career is non-existent. The second reason is that, if an over emphasis is placed on filling vacancies from outside" the morale of serving officers will be dampened. In the words of Stahl, "The most important of all nonfinancial incentives (in organizations) is the opportunity for growth and the stimulus to grow". 1.4 Measures and bases for promotion O. Glenn Stahl lists four methods and bases for promotion as (1) comparative performance, (2) seniority, (3) examination and (4) trial on the job. 1.4.1 Comparative performance If this factor is to be used as a measure or a basis for promotion, it would be necessary to, firstly, have good, up-to-date records of performance and qualifications of all employees and secondly, an efficient method for finding those employees who should be considered for a given vacancy. For the first requirement, i.e. personal achievement records of the employee, it is necessary that a comprehensive record be available of such things as performance reports. Education and training, experience, interests, hobbies etc, The second requirement, the index of qualified candidates calls for an easy method of finding all those relevant for a particular vacancy. In developing this list, we are engaging in a process of internal recruitment. You remember recruitment in an earlier unit? Its purpose was to secure applications from all those interested in any particular job. In the same way, some organizations call for applications from their employees so that a list of those to considered in a promotion process can be compiled. This first set of measures of promotion relate, as you can see, relate to the need for good recording and record keeping. In this aspect as noted by Omale (1992) the Nigerian Civil Service is found to be lacking. He noted that the civil service commissions which are the custodians of employee performance evaluation reports and which uses them as a measure for promotion had no way of ascertaining that they were being completed and/or countersigned by the rightful officers. Also on account of poor storage and retrieval methods many of such reports get lost. When they get lost, and because reports of three consecutive years are required for consideration for promotion, they are filled in arrears for the concerned staff and usually not by the staff under whom he worked, such a staff probably having been re-assigned. left service or perhaps died. 1.4.2 Seniority Discussing this factor, Glenn Stahl makes very useful comments. He says that "... the simplest and most time-honoured basis for promotion is the length of service of the employee, (but that) in most cases however, seniority is used in conjunction with other criteria for promotion". The assumption for the use of seniority as a measure for promotion is that long and efficient service is a guarantee for handling the functions of a higher position. Stahl says that this is a false assumption because "the character of the work in the lower grades may neither call into play nor develop the superior capacities required in the higher'". The circumstance that seniority can be usefully brought in, is when all things are equal. If the performance of all officers on the same level is adjudged equal, seniority can then become a deciding factor otherwise, it should ordinarily be assigned a small weight. 1.4.3 Examination Written examinations are useful measures of promotability depending upon the type of position and the factor being tested. Testing for knowledge is comparatively simple and could be conclusive. However, as noted by Stahl, "...in the matter of personality traits, which play a larger role as responsibilities of positions increase, there is no immediate prospect of conclusive tests. Here, must be included such dynamic traits as leadership, judgment, initiative, resourcefulness, and cooperativeness". Thus for lower level, routine, repetitive jobs, written examinations may suffice, but for supervisory and executive jobs, may not be sufficient. Self-Assessment Exercise 1. What remedy would you recommend to curb the problem of poor storage (retrieval of records in the Nigerian civil service? 2. What would you do to curb the incidence of "make-up" performance evaluation reports some of which can be 3 years in arrears? 3. What weight is given to seniority in promotion exercise in any organization you know and what effect has it had on organizational performance? 1.4.4 Trial on the job This is about the best measure with which to measure suitability promotion. The intelligible which are necessary for filling more responsible positions can be objectively analyzed using this method. Although opportunities for its use are limited as many times as they occur they should be used. The most conducive time for their use is in the normal course of operations, e.g. a subordinate acting for a boss when he goes on leave or on a fairly long assignment. 1.5 Transfers and re-assignments You will recall that when we discussed promotion above, we said it was an advancement from a lower to a higher position with increase in compensation. A transfer, according to O. Glenn Stahl, "...... Involves the movement of the employee to another position of the same class in another organization unit. This is a horizontal movement". It does not involve a change of duties but only a change from the jurisdiction of one executive to that of another. On the other hand, reassignment is a change of work, not involving increased responsibilities, in the same office. There are many reasons that can account for transfers. One, as noted by Stahl, is "original placement cannot...wholly assure that the appointee is fitted to his job. There are always possibilities of round pegs in square holes................ ". Another point to be noted about transfers is that whereas some are within the same department (intra-departmental transfers) others are across (inter-departmental transfers). Usually the former are easier to effect, not involving the authority of the central personnel agency, the latter, is usually difficult to effect and usually involves the approval or the action of central personnel agency. A variant of transfers which combines the characteristics of reassignment is posting. Posting is the reassignment of a given class or cadre of officers who are functionaries of a given office, e.g the office of the Head of Service or the Establishment Division, from ministry to ministry, department to department as the exigencies of office/functions demand. These classes of officers are in a "pool" and are "rotated" from one ministry or department to another as a regular part of their character to improve growth of employee and of the organization. It has its advantages and disadvantages. The former is that it heightens morale by not tying one to a particular location and it engenders training in varied experiences. The latter is that it can take an employee to an undesired organization unit or location. If done too frequently it can lead to an employee not gathering any useful experience. With a reasonable use, its advantages out-weigh its disadvantages. Self-Assessment Exercise Say what is internal selection and explain its types 1.6 Summary In this unit you have covered quite a number of concepts - internal selection, promotion, transfers, reassignment. You have also seen how some of these concepts are operated in the context of Nigeria.  1.7 References/Further Readings/Web Resources Omale. I "Past Practices in Personnel Management in the Nigerian Civil service: Issues and Procedures in Ali D. Yahaya and Caleb I. Akinyele (eds) (1992), ASCON, Topo Badagry. - O. Glenn Stahl (1992), Public Personnel Administration, fifth edition) Harper and Row, Publishers, New York. 1.8 Possible Answers to SAEs Say what is internal selection and explain its types Internal selection is the process of filling positions in organization by the use of those who are within the organization rather than bringing in new entrants. In contrast, when there is a vacancy, is the desire of the organization to fill it from within the organization, the external job market is excluded from the process. The following could be explained as types of internal selection within an organization: (1) Promotion (2) Re-assignments (3) Transfers (4) Postings UNIT 2 CAREER SYSTEMS Unit Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Learning Outcomes 1.3 Definition 1.4 Classification of Careers 1.5 Summary 1.6 References/Further Readings/Web Resources 1.7 Possible Answer to Self-Assessment Exercise 1.1 Introduction When one enters into an organization or a service, one does so on the bases of an occupation. Within the occupation, the employee moves from step to another on a ladder from the lower rungs to the highest. This progression is what will be discussed in this unit. This is a career. Here we shall identify and discuss the various types. 1.2 Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit, you should be able to: Say what a career is List various types of careers Explain what each type of career is List factors used to distinguish between one type of career from another - choose between careers 1.3 Definition We shall avail you two definitions of this concept - career which O. Glenn Stahl is "an old" term. According to him career has been widely used to denote: The progression of an individual in a field of work throughout employable years of his life. In his own way, Edwin B. Flippo defines career as: a sequence of separate but related work activities that provides continuity, order, and meaning in a person's life. Two factors are common to the two definitions above. Firstly, longevity. Both definitions allude to life-long work experience. Secondly, continuity. The first definition which is more relevant to public service relates careerism to a given or chosen field of work. The second definition speaks of separate, but related work activities. Such phenomena are more common in the private sector. Our preferred definition here is the first one which relates a career to one field of endeavor. 1.4 Classification of Careers O. Glenn Stahl identifies two methods for the classification of careers. The first is the Closed Careers and the second Open careers. 1.4.1 Closed career and Open careers A closed career system is one which utilizes the device of low maximum age limit for entrance and the filling of upper level positions almost entirely from within to keep other entrants out. A closed career system does not permit entry at the middle or upper levels. Such a system is based on the concept that substantial opportunity for advancement can be ensured only if the hierarchy is refuelled in personnel from the base, preserving upper ranks for the completion of those already in the service. A Nigerian example that can approximate a closed career is the military. Virtually all military positions are entered into at the very base, in some cases at the Military School in Zaria at the age of 10 -12 years. It is from this tender age that one climbs the rungs to the top most position. Even when there is entry at 2nd lieutenant level of the officer corps, it is only at such a level and no other. The Open career system on the other hand permits entrance at any or all grade levels (by rank or position) in the service. In some instances, and places, even this entrance is limited by entry qualifications and examinations. In Nigeria however. such limitations are usually flouted. For example, although open, the administrative service had prerequisites for entry. However, with the politicization as well as militarization of the service especially at state government levels, quite a number of people who have had nothing near administrative qualification or experience are brought to the very top of the ladder. Such were the times when professors in non- management disciplines were taken into the civil service and made Heads of service. Of course, the outcomes were disastrous. 1.4.2 Programme careers and Organization careers In a large organization with numerous activities and programmes, an employee may take a job that confines him to a section or a programme, whereas another employee may take a job that permits mobility from section to section. The former is a programme career and the latter an organization career. In the Nigerian context what ties an employee down in a programme is also the nature of career or occupation to which the employee belongs. Whereas, an agricultural officer for instance has to remain in the ministry soon finds himself in the ministry_ of' commerce and industry by process of "posting" or reassignment. 1.4.3 Job-oriented careers and Rank in the man This classification, also known as the position and personal rank concepts, is important but very complex. Under the position concept, individual career progression is a progression from one position of jobs sequentially' in an organization. For example, the career of a stenographer fits into this type of classification. The jobs he does are sequenced into levels as for example, stenographer Grade l does a given type/level of jobs; a senior stenographer does a given type/higher level job, etc. On the rank concept, let us give you a fairly long quote from Stahl to explain it: The rank idea says: `Hire broadly qualified people, and work out their assignments from time to time to suit the needs of the enterprise and the aptitudes of the individuals. Let their progress and recognition be based on the length and overall quality of their service, regardless of the significance of individual assignments which they periodically assume. An example, which approximates the rank concept is the Nigerian administrative class positions. Employees in the administrative service are hired on the basis of broad qualification and they are given assignments. For example, because the rank is in the man, not in the position, you find an Assistant Director, a Deputy Director, a Director, etc., all at certain times, doing the work of caretaker chairmanship of local governments. During the military era in civil administration in Nigeria, it was commonplace to find a major, a lieutenant colonel, a full colonel, a brigadier general etc. all holding the same position of Military governorships of states. This is the rank concept of careers. It ensures greater flexibility and produces greater adaptability of human resources to organizational needs. It may feature, to again quote Stahl, is that "... status (pay, prestige, rights, etc.) resides in the individual regardless of the nature of his assignment". Whereas in the position concept, "...status depends upon the work performed rather than upon the previous service of the individual". Self-Assessment Exercise Define personnel management and briefly explain some of its functions. 1.5 Summary This unit has covered the career concept from definition through to forms and methods of classification of careers. 1.7 References/Further Readings/Web Resources Flippo. Edwin B (1984), Personnel Management, (Sixth Edition) McGraw Hill Book  company, New York. Stahl, Glenn O. (1962) Public Personnel Administration, (Fifth Edition_) Harper & Row Publishers, New York. 1.8 Possible Answers to SAEs Explain the methods of career classification. The following could be explained as methods of career classification: (1) Closed careers and open careers (2) Programme careers and organization careers (3) Job oriented careers and Rank in the man UNIT 3 COMPENSATION Unit Structure 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Learning Outcomes 1.3 Definition and Types 1.4 Factors in determining the general pay level 1.5 Determining the minimum living wage 1.6 Pay ceilings 1.7 Additional factors in salary determination 1.8 The Nigerian situation 1.9 Summary 1.10 References/Further Readings/Web Resources 1.11 Possible Answer to Self-Assessment Exercise 1.1 Introduction Compensation is the payment an employee receives for the services he/she renders. In this unit we shall explore how it is determined, i.e., the factors that go into determining salaries and wages. We shall also look into influences on the level of salaries and wages payable by various organizations and employers 1.2 Learning Outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: Define what compensation is Explain the effects of economic, social, and ethical factors on salaries and wages Identify reasons why some employers in organizations pay higher wages than others Undertake a survey on how to gather facts to be used in establishing a pay scale 1.3 Definition and types There is no concise definition of this concept. Its meaning is deduced from its purpose and policy. Edwin Flippo (1984) says that there are three purposes of employee compensation programmes, namely, (1) to attract capable employees to the organization, (2) to motivate them toward superior performance, and (3) to retain their services over an attended period of time. A.G. Cole (1997) adds a fourth purpose, i.e. that compensation is to reward employees for effort, loyalty, experience and achievement. Putting all these together, we will provide you a definition of compensation: The money (salaries and wages) which an employer pays an employee for the services he the employee renders and which is meant to keep him rendering such services for an extended period of time. Wages and salaries form the most single obligation an employer owes to employees and this usually is the biggest item of an organization's expenditure. Cole notes that "typically, wages and salaries and related cost (pensions etc.) make up about 60% of the total costs of running a major business. This definition of compensation which talks about salaries and wages will not be complete if these two concepts i.e. salaries and wages are not defined and distinguished one from the other. James H. Donnelly Jr and his associates in their Fundamental of Management, do this by saying: The most common system by which non managerial employees can be compensated is wages, which are based on time increments or number of units produced. Non managerial employees traditionally have been paid at an hourly or daily rate, although some are now being paid biweekly or monthly. Employees who are compensated on a weekly or longer schedule are paid salaries. 1.4 Factors in determining the general pay level 1.4.1 Economic considerations Even if you have not done economics before, you should not be discouraged by the economic concepts and ideas you will see here The first point to note here is that there is a vital relationship between the total amount spent for wages and the total productivity (i.e. the total amount of goods and services produced). The second truth is that there is a vital relationship between the amount spent on wages and the proportions of total income going to the other factors of production. For example, if an organization has a total of Nlm (one million naira), and needs N1/2m to procure raw materials for making say, bicycle tyres, and spends N700,000 on wages, what is left cannot procure the raw materials for the labor force to use. O. Glenn Stahl, putting all these economic factors together, concludes that "As society is economically organized at present, there is a practical limitation upon the height to which the general level of all compensation can go - a limitation determined first by the total productivity of industry, and second by the irreducible requirements of the various other factors of production. A wage set with due regard to these considerations is regarded as an economic wage, and private establishments paying `uneconomic' wages are likely to be forced out of business". Of course government is not bound by the economic factor above. In theory, what sets a limit to what government can pay in wages and salaries is its income and the extent to which it has to compete in the labour market. However, despite the fact that government is not bound by the economic argument, it behoves it to be guided by such arguments, competes with industry in the labour market. If it pays far in excess of what industry pays, labour will drain into public service and productivity of industry will suffer. If, on the other hand, it pays far below economic way, it (the government) will find it difficult to attract labour. 1.4.2 Social and ethical considerations O. Glenn Stahl says that, "Although from an economic stand point, government is somewhat freer in setting its pay policy than are competitive private establishments, from the social and ethical stand points it is less free to do as it will'". This is so because the government is the body which is saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that every citizen of a given country lives a life that is adjudged "adequate" and to ensure that this is attained, means paying a wage that cannot go below a certain level. The reason that Stahl advances for the social and ethical consideration is that the bargaining power of public employees is limited as a result of (1) the absence of effective organization among many civil servants (2) limitations upon the right to strike and to engage in political activities, and (3) the special character of much government work which makes it difficult for the civil servant to leave the service for private employment. He sums up this factor and its effects thus: - "The weak bargaining position in which many public servants find themselves produces a situation conducive to arbitrary and dissemination. The chief restraint against unfairness must be self-imposed, on the ground that the government should be a model employer. The social and ethical consideration is what gives rise to the idea of a living wage or what in the Nigeria of recent days you heard referred to as the minimum wage. Stahl says that "most contemporary references to a minimum wage are, in reality references to a minimum living wage...(and) that the government should pay its employees a salary based upon what it costs them to maintain an appropriate standard of living". This approach to determin