NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Business Studies Chapter 6

What is meant by staffing?
Staffing is the managerial function of filling and keeping filled positions in the organization structure.

State the two important sources of recruitment.
Recruitment refers to the process of searching and attracting the required personnel for a job. In other words, it is the process of finding the potential candidates and motivating them to apply for the job. The following are the two important sources of recruitment.
Internal sources: Internal sources of recruitment refer to the sources that are within the organization. That is, through internal sources the jobs are filled up from inside the organization. It can take the form of transfers and promotions. Through transfers, the job of a specific profile is filled by shifting a suitable person working in another department of the organization to the concerned department. Similarly, through promotions, higher position job vacancies in the organization are filled by promoting the lower level employees.
External Sources: External sources of recruitment refer to the sources of recruitment that are outside the organization. Through external sources the jobs in an organization are filled by bringing in new people. For fresh talent and wider choice external sources are used. For example, one of the external sources of recruitment is ‘direct recruitment’ which involves putting up a notice board outside office and then following the recruitment process on a specified date. Similarly, placement agencies work as an external source as they act as a match maker for the job seekers and job providers.

The workers of a factory are unable to work on new machines and always demand for help of supervisor. The Supervisor is overburdened with their frequent calls. Suggest the remedy. (Hint: training)
In the given situation, the workers need to be trained to handle expensive, hi-tech and sophisticated machines. For this, vestibule training method would be the most appropriate.

The quality of production is not as per standards. On investigation it was observed that most of the workers were not fully aware of the proper operation of the machinery. What could be the way to improve the quality of production to meet the standards? (Training).
The poor quality of work was due to lack of knowledge about proper operation of the machinery. Accuracy can, therefore, be improved through appropriate training, where workers should be taught to operate the machinery properly.

The workers of a factory remain idle because of lack of knowledge of hi-tech machines. Frequent visit of engineer is made which causes high overhead charges. How can this problem be removed? (Vestibule training).
In the above case, to overcome the mentioned problem the workers need to be trained to handle the new machines. And for this, vestibule training method would be the most appropriate.
Vestibule training means to learn their jobs of the equipment they will be using but the training is conducted away from the work floor.

An organization provides security services. It requires such candidates who are reliable and don’t leak out the secrets of their clients. What steps should be incorporated in selection process?
An important part of the selection process, which must be emphasized here, is conducting personality tests on the individuals. This test gives cues to a person’s emotions, reaction, and attitude and value system. Thus, it helps to ensure that the selected candidate is honest and suitable as per the requirements of the job.

A company is manufacturing paper plates and bowls. It produces 1, 00,000 plates and bowls each day. Due to local festival, it got an urgent order of extra 50,000 plates and bowls. Explain the method of recruitment that the company should adopt in the given circumstances to meet the order.
In order to complete the order in time, more people are required at short notice. Thus, labour Contractor should be approached, who can provide a large workforce at a short notice.

What is meant by recruitment?
Recruitment refers to the procedure of finding and stimulating the required candidates to apply for a particular job. As against this, selection is the procedure of screening and choosing the required candidates out of the gathered pool. The following points highlight the difference between recruitment and selection.

Internal sources of recruitment refer to the sources that are endogenous to the organization, that is, within the organization. There are two ways of filling the jobs internally, namely transfers and promotions. It has an advantage of being more economical than the other sources of recruitment. Filling the jobs through internal sources is cheaper in terms of time as well as money is listed below:
1. Internal recruitment also simplifies the process of selection and placement. The candidates that are already working in the enterprise can be evaluated more accurately and economically. This is a more reliable way of recruitment since the candidates are already known to the organization.
2. Transfer is a tool of training the employees to prepare them for higher jobs. Also people recruited from within the organization do not need induction training.
3. Transfer has the benefit of shifting workforce from the surplus departments to those where there is shortage of staff.
Thus, in contrast to other sources, the internal sources of recruitment are more economical in nature.

No organization can be successful unless it fills and keeps the various positions filled with the right kind of people for the right job. Elucidate.
No organization can be successful unless it fills and keeps the various positions filled with the right kind of people for the right job. It means that for any successful organization it will need to place the person for a job according to the skill required to perform that job so that they can ensure better performance. And this can be done through the staffing process. Different types of jobs required different skilled personnel to perform it. And if the skill of the person doesn’t match with the job then they can’t perform it successfully. So it is necessary for the organization to assign the job to the person with required skills. And this will result in more productivity and the organization can be run more efficiently and smoothly.

Human resource management includes many specialized activities and duties. Explain.
Staffing function deals with the human element of management. It is important because the performance of an organization depends upon its human resource, its competence and motivation. But, as organizations grow and number of employees increase, a separate department called Human Resource Department (HRD) is formed. It consists of specialists for all areas related to human Resource Management. It includes many specialized activities and duties to be performed by HR personnel, which are as follows:

• Recruitment means searching for eligible candidates.
• Analyzing jobs, collecting information about jobs to prepare a job description.
• Developing compensation and incentive plans.
• Training and development of employees for efficient performance and career growth.
• Maintaining labour relations and union management relations.
• Handling grievances and complaints.
• Providing social security and welfare of employees.
• Defending the company in lawsuits and avoiding legal complications.
• To maintain a good working environment in the organization.

Therefore, staffing is basically extended to what is known as Human Resource Management (HRM), in order to attain specialization in the area of human resource.

Selection is a procedure to choose the appropriate candidates out of the numerous aspirants. It is a rigorous process as it involves various stages of tests and interviews. Selection process aims at getting the best out of the recruited pool so that work efficiency can be maximized. Following are the steps involved in the selection process.
Preliminary Screening: It helps the manager eliminate unqualified or unfit job seekers based on the information supplied in the application forms.
Selection Tools: An employment test is a mechanism that attempts to measure certain characteristics of individuals. These characteristics range from aptitudes, such as manual dexterity, to intelligence.
Employment Interview: Interview is a formal, in-depth conversation conducted to evaluate the applicant’s suitability for the job. Sometimes, the individual may also seek information regarding the organization in such interview.
Reference and Background Checks: Organization request names, addresses, and telephone numbers of references. The purpose of verifying information and, gaining additional information on an applicant.
Selection Decision: The final decision has to be made from among the candidates who pass the tests, interviews and reference checks. The views of the concerned manager will be generally considered in the final selection because it is he/she who is responsible for the performance of the new employee
Medical Examination: The candidate is required to undergo a medical fitness test. The job offer is given to the candidate being declared fit after the medical examination.
Job Offer: Job offer to those applicants who have passed all the previous hurdles. Job offer is made through a letter of appointment/confirm his acceptance
Contract of Employment: Once the job letter is given, the candidates have to fill-up some forms that are necessary for the future references. Contract of employment comprises of details such as salary, date and terms of joining, leave rules, working hours, allowances, etc.