HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

QUESTIONS AND EXPECTED ANSWERS

1. Critically evaluate the idea of extending employees involvement within organisations in

Zimbabwe.
2. There is no right to strike in Zimbabwe. Discuss the legal position with regard to strikes
in Zimbabwe.
3. Identify and explain in detail the factors that have led to strikes in Zimbabwe from 1980
to 2000.
4. Discuss the collective bargaining process as a means of promoting harmony between
management and employees in Zimbabwe.
5. Discuss the positive and negative effects of worker involvement and participation as it
applies to your organisation
6. Giving specific examples analyse the roles of tripartite partners in shaping industrial
relations systems in Zimbabwe.
7. Explain in detail giving practical examples the following three theoretical approaches to
industrial relations.
a. Unitary perspective
b. Pluralist perspective
c. Marxist perspective
8. Discuss and evaluate the mechanisms provided for by the Labour Relations Act 28:01
to accommodate strikes.
9. Identify and explain in detail giving practical examples the causes of stress in an
organisation.
10. Identify and explain in detail the benefits of training
a. To the individual
b. To the organisation
11. Identify and explain in detail giving practical examples the following appraisal
techniques.
a. Management by Objectives
b. Ranking Method
c. Forced Distribution Method
d. Checklist Method
e. Essay Method

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 f. Critical Incident Technique
g. Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales

Also identify the advantages and disadvantages of each appraisal technique.

12. Explain in detail giving practical examples the following job evaluation systems used in
Zimbabwe
a) Castellian System
b) Paterson System or Decision Board System or Method (DBM)
c) Peromnes System
d) The Questionnaire System
e) Hay Guide Chart Profile System
f) ZIMPLEST System
13. Discuss the consequences of stress to both employee and employer using the
Zimbabwean context.
14. In the world of HR management workforce planning and recruitment are often
described as key functions within any company.
a) Name and discuss in detail giving practical examples the factors that influence
the way in which companies approach the important issue of recruitment.
b) Evaluate the relevance of the sources of recruitment in Zimbabwe.
15. Identify and explain in detail giving practical examples the following appraisal
techniques;

a. 360° Method
b. 720° Method
c. Essay Method
d. Critical Incident Method
e. Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)
f. Checklist Method
g. Forced Distribution Method
h. Management By Objectives (MBO)
i. Graphic Rating Scale
j. Assessment Centers
k. Human Resource Accounting
Also identify the advantages and disadvantages of each appraisal technique

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16. According to the VRIO framework, which type of human resources can be a source of
competitive advantage for a firm? How can the application of VRIO transform HR
function from being a ‘cost’ into a strategic function that contributes to the performance
of an organization?
17. According to one viewpoint, it is easier for a firm to find a new business strategy to
go with the existing HR practices and competencies, than to develop new HR
practices and competencies to match with the new business strategies. Do you
agree? Explain the rationale behind this viewpoint. Cite examples of organizations
that have relied on distinctive HR practices to attain competitive advantage.
18. Critique the assertion that, “The perceptually and dynamism of psychological contract
makes it common that violation will occur.”
19. Discuss the importance of the “New Human Resources Mandate” to Zimbabwean
organisations.
20. You are a Human Resources Manager at MTD Enterprises and employee
performance have been declining. Explain how you will go about implementing
High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) to improve performance in the
organisation.
21. Strategic Human Resources Management have been argued as the case of simply
putting new wine in an old bottle. Discuss the above statement using appropriate
examples
22. Explain the following
a) VRIO Framework
b) The five (5) types of strategic fit and the three approaches
c) Components of HPWS
d) Components of Knowledge Management

23. Giving practical examples explain Miles and Snow’s Classification of Business
Strategy and HR Strategy

24. You are a Human Resources Manager of company, how do you go about
implementing HR Bundles Approach to improve employee performance. You also
need to explain the drawbacks of HR Bundles Approach.

25. Critique the applicability of the psychological contract violation model in

Zimbabwean organisation and in developed countries organisations.

26. You are a Human Resources Manager in the Public Service in Zimbabwe and you
are asked by the Public Service Commission to make a presentation on retaining

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 employees. Explain the aspects you will cover in your retention strategy
presentation.

27. Trace the emergence of trade unionism in Zimbabwe since the 1980s to date. In
your presentation suggest why trade union membership have been declining.
Given the amendment of labour laws in Zimbabwe comment on the survival of
trade union in future.

28. The Supreme Court ruling has had effects on various social groups in the country.
a) Citing relevant examples discuss the implications of Supreme Court judgement on
termination of employment on notice of 17 July 2015 to employees and
employers.
b) Comment on the relevance of the Labour Act, section 12 which was used to
terminate the employment on notice.
c) Evaluate the Labour Amendment No 5 of 2015 as a result of the Supreme Court
judgement of 17 July 2015 in relation to the social partners.
29. There is no right to strike in Zimbabwe. Discuss the legal position of strikes in
Zimbabwe with reference to the Labour Act Chapter 28:01 and ILO principles on the
right to strike.
30. Using appropriate examples compare and contrast Harvard and Michigan approaches to
human resources management.
31. Discuss the restrictions on the right to strike placed by the Labour Act in Zimbabwe and
explain two circumstances where the Labour Act places no restrictions whatsoever on
the right to strike.
32. Evaluate the role of the Zimbabwean government in labour relations since
independence to date.
33. There is no love between an employer and an employee except specific performance.
Discuss the above statement giving practical examples from Zimbabwean organisations.
34. Explain to other students your understanding of the Labour Amendment No 5 of 2015
35. Explain to other students your understanding of the ZUVA Petroleum case which
triggered the firing of employees on 3 months’ notice.
36. Explain giving practical examples factors that affect human resources
management in Zimbabwe.

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QUESTION 11:

Identify and explain in detail giving practical examples the following appraisal techniques:

(a) Management By Objectives

(b) Ranking Method
(c) Forced Distribution Method
(d) Checklist Method
(e) Essay Method
(f) Critical Incident Technique
(g) Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scale

Also identify the advantages and disadvantages of each appraisal technique.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

Also known as management by results (MBR). It is a process of defining objectives within an
organization so that management and employees agree to the objectives and understand what
they need to do in the organization in order to achieve them. An important part of the MBO is
the measurement and the comparison of the employee’s actual performance with the
standards set. Ideally, when employees themselves have been involved with the goal setting
and choosing the course of action to be followed by them, they are more likely to fulfill their
responsibilities. Behind the principle of MBO is for employees to have a clear understanding
of the roles and responsibilities expected of them.

Benefits

 Motivation – Involving employees in the whole process of goal setting and increasing
employee empowerment. This increases employee job satisfaction and commitment.
 Better communication and coordination – Frequent reviews and interactions between
superiors and subordinates help to maintain harmonious relationships within the
organization and also to solve problems.
 Clarity of goals - Subordinates tend to have a higher commitment to objectives they set
for themselves than those imposed on them by another person. Managers can ensure that
objectives of the subordinates are linked to the organization's objectives. Common goal
for whole organization means it is a directive principle of management.

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Weaknesses

 It over-emphasizes the setting of goals over the working of a plan as a driver of outcomes.
 It under-emphasizes the importance of the environment or context in which the goals are
set.
 Difficult for employees to agree on goals.
 Misses intangibles like honesty, integrity, quality, etc.
 Interpretation of goals may vary from manager to manager, and employee to employee.

Time consuming, complicated, lengthy and expensive.

Ranking Method

A traditional and one of the simplest and oldest formal systematic method of performance
appraisal. Each employee is compared with all others for the purpose of placing order of
worth. Employees are ranked from the highest to the lowest or from the best to the worst.

How do we use the ranking method?

Under the ranking method, the manager com-pares an employee to other similar employees,
rather than to a standard measurement. An offshoot of ranking is the forced distribution
method, which is similar to grading on a curve. Predetermined percentages of employees are
placed in various performance categories, for example, excellent, above average, average,
below average, and poor,. The employees ranked in the top group usually get the rewards
(raise, bonus, promotion), those not at the top tend to have the reward withheld, and those at
the bottom sometimes get punished. In Self-Assessment and Skill Builder 8-1, you are asked
to rank the performance of your peers.

Why and when do we use the ranking method?

Managers have to make evaluative decisions, such as who is the employee of the month, who
gets a raise or promotion, and who gets laid off. So when we have to make evaluative
decisions, we generally have to use ranking. However, our ranking can, and when possible
should, be based on other methods and forms. Ranking can also be used for developmental
purposes by letting employees know where they stand in comparison to their peers—they can
be motivated to improve performance. For example, when one of the authors passes back

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exams, he places the grade distribution on the board. It does not in any way affect the current
grades—but it lets students know where they stand, and he does it to motivate improvement.

Strengths

 Helps in evaluative decisions such as employee of the month

 Simple and easy to use
 Can be used for development purposes by letting employees know where they stand in
comparison to their peers

Weaknesses

 Difficult to compare one individual with others having varying behavioural traits
 Not ideal when a lot of people are to be ranked
 Does not tell how much better or worse one is than another

Forced Distribution Method

The system requires the managers to evaluate each individual, and rank them typically into
categories e.g. excellent, above average, good, below average, poor. It forces the rator to
distribute the ratings of the overall performance. One common error in evaluating employees
is ranking most of them near a certain level. The Forced Distribution Method tries to
overcome this problem by assuming that employee performance would follow statistical
norms and be distributed more evenly. The expectations of a bell curve would be something
like: excellent is 10 percent, good 20 is percent, average is 40 percent, below average is 20
percent and unsatisfactory is 10 percent.

Strengths

 Fast and time efficient

 Transparent
 Cost Effective
 Simple and easy to use

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Weaknesses

 Somewhat controversial due to the competition it creates.

 There is the reality that not all employees will fit neatly into one of the categories and
might end up in a category that does not reflect their true performance.
 It causes employee morale problems.
 Morale problems who are not rated at or near the top of the list.
 Suitable for small workforce.
 Workers strengths and weakness cannot be easily determined.

Checklist Method
The appraisal is done through answers from a number of questions. There are two columns
provided for each question, either a yes or no. The manager simply responds yes or no to the
questions, which can fall into either the behavioral or the trait method, or both.
Example:
Does the employee finish delegated tasks on time? Yes No
Is the employee satisfied with the job? Yes No

Strengths

 Checklist method for performance evaluations lessens the subjectivity.

 Avoids discrimination. With written evaluations, managers have more freedom to
overemphasize and overlook strengths and weaknesses.
 Checklist formats force reviewers to evaluate employees on a skill-by-skill basis and to
think critically about areas of employee performance that otherwise might have been left
unconsidered.
 The checklist framework removes some of the emotional bias that goes into performance
reviews.

Weaknesses

 It does not allow more detailed answers and analysis of the performance criteria, unless
combined with another method, such as essay ratings.

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 Because checklists are relatively quick to fill out, a manager might thoughtlessly select
check boxes without considering specific examples that justify each rating

Essay Method
This method describes employee performance by the manager or superior over the entire
evaluation period by writing a narrative, detailing the strength and weaknesses of the
appraisee. If done correctly this approach could provide a great detail of valuable data for
discussion in the appraisal interview. A major determining factor for the success and failure
of this technique is that it entirely depends on the writing skills of the supervisor/manager.

Strengths

 Report actually shows employee's performance.

 It is not restricted, can cover all factors.
 Examples are given of what employee does best and what which areas they need to
revisit.
 Provides feedback to the employee

Weaknesses

 Time consuming.
 Supervisor may write a biased essay.
 Effective writers are very difficult to find.

Critical Incident Method

Is a set of procedures used for collecting direct observations of human behavior that have
critical significance. A critical incident can be described as one that makes a contribution
either positively or negatively to an activity or phenomenon. Critical incidents can be
gathered in various ways, but typically respondents are asked to tell a story about an
experience they have had. It is done on the basis of incidence that occurs to the participating
employee. It includes recording of all positive and negative incidents. Example; coming up
with a brilliant method of reducing wastage, going against a superior etc.

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It is a flexible method that usually relies on five major areas:

The first is determining and reviewing the incident.

Then fact-finding, which involves collecting the details of the incident from the participants.

Then identify the issues.

Then decision can be made on how to resolve the issues based on various possible solutions.

Lastly, evaluation, which will determine if the solution that was selected will solve the root
cause of the situation and will cause no further problems.

Strengths

 Flexible method that can be used to improve multi-user systems.

 Data is collected from the respondent's perspective and in his or her own words
 Does not force the respondents into any given framework.
 Identifies even rare events that might be missed by other methods which only focus on
common and everyday events.
 Useful when problems occur but the cause and severity are not known.
 Inexpensive and provides rich information.
 Emphasizes the features that will make a system particularly vulnerable and can bring
major benefits (e.g. safety).
 Can be applied using questionnaires or interviews.
 Easy to understand.

Weaknesses

 A first problem comes from the type of the reported incidents.

 The Critical Incident Technique will rely on events being remembered by users and will
also require the accurate and truthful reporting of them.
 Since critical incidents often rely on memory, incidents may be imprecise or may even go
unreported.
 The method has a built-in bias towards incidents that happened recently, since these are
easier to recall.

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 Respondents may not be accustomed to or willing to take the time to tell (or write) a
complete story when describing a critical incident.
 Since this method is based on incidents it does not say anything about the everyday
situation so it is not very representative.

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) are designed to bring the benefits of both
qualitative and quantitative data to the employee appraisal process. BARS compare an
individual’s performance against specific examples of behavior that are anchored to
numerical ratings. BARS are normally presented vertically with scale points ranging from
five to nine. For example, a level four rating for a nurse may require them to show sympathy
to patients while a level six rating may require them to show higher levels of empathy and
ensure this comes across in all dealings with the patient.

The behavioral examples used as anchor points are often collected using Critical Incident
Techniques (CIT), which are procedures used for documenting human behavior that have
significance in a particular area. It is an appraisal method that aims to combine the benefits of
narratives, critical incidents, and quantified ratings by anchoring a quantified scale with
specific narrative examples of good, moderate, and poor performance. BARS were developed
in response to dissatisfaction with the subjectivity involved in using traditional rating scales
such as the graphic rating scale.

It differs from standard rating scales in one central respect, in that it focuses on behaviors that
are determined to be important for completing a job task or doing the job properly, rather
than looking at more general employee characteristics e.g. personality, vague work habits.
EXAMPLE: Rather than having a rating item that says: Answers phone promptly and
courteously, a BARS approach may break down that task into behaviors:
Answers phone within five rings.
Greets caller with "Hello, This is the Chinhoyi University of Technology, how may I help
you?"

Benefits

 BARS are intended to facilitate more accurate ratings of the target person's behavior or
performance.
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 Job behaviors describe employee performance in a better way.
 More objective
 More acceptances due to participation of managers and employees

Weaknesses

 May suffer from unreliability, leniency bias and lack of discriminant validity between
performance dimensions.
 Scale independence may not be valid/ reliable.
 Behaviors are activity oriented rather than result oriented.
 Very time consuming for generating BARS.
 Each job will require creating separate BARS scale.

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QUESTION 30:

Using appropriate examples compare and contrast Harvard and Michigan approaches to
human resources management.

INTRODUCTION

There are different ways to approach the management of human resources in a business
.Human resources textbooks have mainly focused on two broad approaches to human
resources management (HRM): Michigan approach (hard) and the Harvard approach
(soft).Hard HRM treats employees simply as resources of the business (like machinery and
buildings).Soft HRM treats employees as the most important resource in the business and as a
source of competitive advantage.

Definition of key terms:

MICHIGAN APPROACH MODEL

An approach which has a harder, less humanistic edge, holding that employees are resources
in the same way as any other business resource. (Fombrun, Tichy and Devanna, 1984)

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

The strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organization’s most valued
assets, the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the
achievement of the objectives of the business. (Armstrong Michael, 2006. A Handbook of
Human Resource Management Practice)

HARVARD APPROACH MODEL

A comprehensive and more strategic perspective with regards to the organization’s human
resources that considers employees as potential assets rather than merely a variable cost.
(Beer et al. Managing Human Assets, 1984)

BODY

The Michigan model.

This is a model that has a harder, less humanistic edge, holding that employees are resources
in the same way as any other resource in the business. The model outlines that people must be
managed the similar manner to equipment and raw materials. Human must be obtained as
cheaply as possible used sparingly, and developed and exploited as much as possible.

The model stresses HRM's focus on the crucial importance of the close integration of human
resource policies, systems and activities with business strategy. From this perspective human
resources are largely a factor of production, an expense of doing business rather than the only
resource capable of turning inanimate factors of production in to wealth.

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Human Resources are viewed as passive, to be provided and deployed as numbers and skills
at the right price, rather than the source of creative energy.

The hard HRM approach has some kinship with scientific management as people are reduced
to passive objects that are not cherished as a whole people but assessed on whether they
possess the skills/attributes the organisation requires (Vaughan, 1994)

In a hard human resource management environment, employees are hired and fired as
necessity arises and it takes a long term view of using the workforce as efficiently as possible
to achieve long term corporate objectives.

Employees are paid as little as possible so as to reduce the cost of production. The employees
are required to work extensively but must be exploited at a very low cost to the business.

Communication mainly downward in direction. This is in form of instructions and orders

from the management down to the workers. (Business technology, 2014)

Managers do not consult regularly and fully with employees. This is because workers are
regarded as people who knows nothing and need regular supervision so as to avoid costly
mistakes to the business.

Harvard Approach.

The soft view of HRM, developed by Storey (2001), popularized a distinctive approach to
managing the human resource. Beer et al. (1984) proposed the Harvard model as a means of
improving managers’ methods of managing people. Walton (1985) argued that the role of
HRM was to develop strategies to gain employees’ commitment, not to be a means of
controlling them.

Beer et al. (1984) suggest that managers need to be more responsible for HRM. The Harvard
model opened the debate in the 1980s and proposes four human resource categories. The
issues proposed by Beer et al. (1984) argue that managers need to take responsibility for
employee influence, human resource flow, reward systems and work systems, regardless of
the size of the organization. They recognize that different stakeholders have different
interests and, for an organization to be effective, managers need to take these interests into
account.

Human resource management (HRM) has frequently been described as a concept with two
distinct forms: soft and hard. The soft model emphasizes individuals and their self-direction
and places commitment, trust, and self-regulated behavior at the center of any strategic
approach to people. (Veronica Hope Hailey, Philip Stiles, and Catherine Truss, 1999).

Guest (1987) extended the Harvard model’s four HR policy choices of employee influence,
human resource flow, reward systems and work systems to a total of seven. These seven
policy areas, included: organizational job design; policy formulation and implementation and

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management of change; recruitment, selection and socialization; appraisal training and
development; manpower flows; reward systems and communication systems.

Managers often give control of their working life to employees through delegation,
empowerment and delaying. This helps the workers to further enhance their carries and
prepares them for future promotion opportunities since employees are promoted from within
wherever possible – reflecting the long-term aim to develop the workforce. According to
Maslow delegation may help in the employees with the high need for growth to achieve Ego
needs. Communication is two way in form of instructions and feedback. This improves the
communication between the workers and management and also motivates the employees.

Similarities

Armstrong (2001) sees similar approaches in soft and hard HRM regarding recruitment and
selection activities, compensation programs and development of skilled individuals.

Recruitment - both the hard and soft approach emphasize on the recruitment process, which
is a positive process of searching for prospective employees and stimulating them to apply for
the jobs in the organization.

Selection – after recruitment the Harvard and Michigan approach conveys the selection
process, which is the process of picking up individuals with requisite qualifications and
competence to fill jobs in the organization.

Compensation programs/reward system - the hard and soft approach are similar in that
they both have a reward system, which is defined as a structured method of evaluating and
compensating employees based on their performance. The compensations and rewards are
known as incentives to the employees for example pay.

Development of skilled individuals – both models encourages development of skilled

employees, though they use different approaches to fulfil that objective.

Differences

However the Harvard approach has a broader scope than the Michigan approach as the
Michigan approach only includes recruitment etc but the Harvard approach has
developmental services for example motivation, developing organizational culture. The
following table illustrates the differences between the hard and soft approach Michigan (hard)
approach Harvard (soft) approach sees employees as a variable cost and resources that they
can use to get maximum returns .Does not see the need for investing in employees rather they
use them as resources .Regards employees as machinery with the task of keeping them in
order and in proper coordination falling into the hands of management. There is a short term
policy, employees are hired and fired when necessary. Sees employees as assets and means
by which they can gain a competitive advantage .Believes in employee commitment and

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engagement that is investing in them by training, building their careers etc. Managers are
given the task of implementing sufficient motivation and ensuring that they reach their full
potential.

There is a long term view of using employees as efficiently as possible to achieve long term
corporate objectives Michigan (hard) approach employees are paid as little as possible and
have limited control over their working life .Judgmental appraisal is used .Harvard (soft)
approach employees are promoted from when it is possible – reflecting the long term aim to
develop the workforce Developmental appraisals are given

Traditional Personnel Management - Human Resources Management

Characteristic Traditional Personnel Human resource management

management (TPM) (HRM)

Strategic nature  Predominantly dealing with  Dealing with day-to-day

day-to-day issues issues; but proactive in
 Ad hoc and reactive in nature nature and integrated
(when something has with other management
happened): a short-term functions (they believe
perspective rather than in vertical integration)
strategic. TPM was very Business strategy -
myopic and could not see  A deliberately long-term,
what it is today strategic view of human
 Divergence of interest resources
 Compliance to rules  Convergence of interest
 There was no flexibility  Commitment
 Collectivism i.e. people  Workers were not bound
should be given umbrella by the rules
incentives  Individualism i.e.
 pluralism individual needs are
different (you should
know want an employee
needs) This can also be
called procedural equity
 Unitary

Psychological  Based on compliance on the  Based on seeking willing

Contract (binging part of the employee commitment of the
but not written  Compliance to given rules employee
down)  Commitment (an
employee must not be
harassed but should
work freely)

Job design  Typically Taylorist/Fordist  Typically team-based

(Scientific Management) (Henri Fayol)
 They believe in the chain of  They believe in the chain
command of command

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Organizational  Hierarchical (The red tap –  Flexible with core of key
structure Bureaucracy) Line of employees surrounded
authority defined by peripheral shells (and
 Tendency to vertical very adaptable)
integration  High degree of
outsourcing and
autonomy

Remuneration  Collective base rates (  Market-based

 ‘Pay by position’(not pay by  Individual and/or team
 Any additional bonuses performance
linked to Taylorist work  ‘Pay for contribution’
systems (people should be (paid
 External relativity based on merits)
 Internal Relativity

Recruitment  Sophisticated recruitment  Sophisticated

practices for senior staff only recruitment for all
 Strong reliance on external Employees
local labour market for most  Strong internal labour
recruitment market for core
employees. Greater
reliance on external
labour market for non-
core

Training/  Limited and usually  Transformed into a

development restricted to training non- learning and
managerial employees. development philosophy
Narrowly job-related.(They transcending job-related
don’t believe in training their training. An ongoing
workers) developmental role for
 Management development all core employees
limited to top including non-
Executives and fast-track management. Strong
candidates. emphasis on
management and
leadership development
 A learning organisation
culture

Employee  Pluralist: collectivist; low  Unitarist: individualistic;

relations Trust(The us verse them high trust
perspective approach)

Organization of  Specialist/professional  Generalist

the function  Separated from line  Largely integrated into

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 management line management for
 Bureaucratic and centralised day-to-day HR issues
 Decentralised -
Specialist HR group to
advise and create HR
policy

Welfare role  Residual expectations  No explicit welfare role

Criteria for  Minimising cost of human  Control of HR costs, but

success of the resources also maximum
function utilisation of human
resources over the long
term

Planning and  short term(focuses on the  long term (failer to plan

Time short term planning) you are planning to fail)
Controls Systems  Inculcates and embraces
 relies more on external the concept of self-
controls control of the
employees.
Management of  supporting change  stimulating change
Change ubiquitous

Conclusion

Either of the two can work alone in the real world, each view reflects an ideal situation which
does not fly when matched with the gravity of reality. The soft and hard approach are
contrasting styles, a well-crafted combination of the two should be adopted a contingency or
situation approach is much more appropriate in the modern era that we live in rather than
adopting any of the independent approaches that have been outlined in the epitome above.

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QUESTION:

Explain training and development and discuss its benefits to both the employer and the
employee

INTRODUCTION

Training and development is a sub-system of an organization and core function of Human

Resource Management. It ensures continuous skill development of employees working in
organisation and habituates process of learning for developing knowledge to work. Training
and Development is the foundation for obtaining quality output from employees.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Training: Equipping employees with practical skills to do their work efficiently

and effectively.

Development: Training the inside of the body i.e. the brains and the heart.

Organisation: It is a social unit of people that is structured and managed to meet a

need or to pursue collective goals.

Individual: An employee in an organisation

Benefits: The advantages

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

In the field of human resource management, training and development is the field concerned
with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in
organizational settings (Aguinis and Kraiger, 2009). This implies that the principal objective
of training and development in an organisation is to make sure the availability of a skilled and
willing workforce to an organization.

Training

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 According to Blckerton (2014), training refers to planned efforts by a company to facilitate
employees’ learning of job-related competencies. The goal of training is for employees to
master the knowledge, skill, and behaviours emphasized in training programs, and apply
them to their day-to-day activities (Noe, 2002).Therefore it can be said that training focuses
on psychomotor skills, that is, the practical skills gained by an individual. For example nurses
can be trained to use equipment such as dialysing machines for renal failure. Another
example would be that of police officers being trained how to use the speed detector. When
we look at training we can associate it with Fredrick Taylor’s Scientific Management
Approach which focuses on improving the skills of the worker with the aim of increasing
production.

Methods of Training

Employees in organizations can be trained through various ways which include on the job
training/in house training and off the job training.

In-house Training

According to businessdictionary.com, on-the-job training is when employees are trained at

the place of work while he or she is doing the actual job. Usually a professional trainer (or
sometimes an experienced employee) serves as the course instructor using hands-on training
often supported by formal classroom training. For example, when an IT department of an
organisation introduces new software for use by the organisation, the staff that would use the
package are trained so in-house so that they familiarise themselves with it.

Off-the-job Training

Businessdictionary.com posits that off-the-job training is training at a site away from the
actual work environment. It often utilizes lectures, case studies, role playing, and simulation
and so on. Blckerton (2014) concurs with Businessdictionary.com as he put forth that off-the-
job training occurs when employees are taken away from their place of work to be trained
and went on to give the common methods of off-the-job training among others as:

 Day release (employee takes time off work to attend a local college or training centre);
 Distance learning / evening classes;
 Block release courses - which may involve several weeks at a local college;

16
 Sandwich courses - where the employee spends a longer period of time at college (e.g. six
months) before returning to work;
 Sponsored courses in higher education, for example university lecturers sponsored for their
PhD studies, and,
 Self-study, computer-based training.

However, while conventional skills training give people new techniques and methods, it
would not develop their maturity, belief, or courage, which is so essential for the
development of managerial and strategic capabilities. This is where development comes into
play.

Development

Many organizations face the challenge of developing greater confidence, initiative, solutions-
finding, and problem-solving capabilities among their people. Organisations need staff at all
levels to be more self-sufficient, resourceful, creative and autonomous. According to
Bhupendra (2003), development is preparing for the future responsibilities, while increasing
the capacity to perform at a current job. This implies that development mostly concerns
imparting skills in decision making, problem solving, management, leadership among others.
It also focuses on developing the person, (brain and heart) not the skills. Individuals are
developed with succession matters in mind so that they would be able to take over higher
positions in case of retirements or even promotions. For example when a Chief Executive
Officer of an organisation retires someone is trained or groomed whilst he or she is still there
preparing him for the responsibilities of the CEO post. This is done mostly by allowing that
person to take responsibility whilst the Chief Executive Officer is away.

Ways of developing employees

Act as a role model.

Superiors need to be transparent to their subordinates about their own need to learn and
develop and share how they are able to do it (Mankin, 2009). This means that managers need
to embrace vulnerability: leaders are never more powerful than when they are shown to be
learning.

Reinforce the value of learning.

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Dessler (2005) postulates that managers need to go beyond the baseline conversation about
goals. Leaders should ask about what they want to accomplish and what they feel their gaps
are. When someone completes an assignment, it is encouraging to celebrate both the
outcome and the learning, especially if the assignment was not completed as smoothly as
everyone would have liked.

Build sustainable processes to support development.

Managers should be expected to coach and develop their people (Beer et al., 1984). At a
minimum, everyone knows what areas they need to improve, and for those with particularly
high potential, career tracks are developed that give them a sense of where they can go inside
the organization. This also helps management in succession planning. For example the Chief
Executive Officer of an organization may coach or groom an identified individual with
potential to lead the organization by allowing them to act on behalf of the superior thereby
giving them an appreciation of the responsibilities of higher offices.

Reinforce shared values.

Employees should be able to link their everyday tasks and responsibilities to the values in the
organization (Dessler, 2005). This means that people need to understand why what they do is
important. This means that the values of the organization must be made clear to the
employees.

Leverage problems as opportunities for real world learning and development.

Mankin (2009) is of the view that an acceptable failure needs to be clarified and that way, by
incorporating stretch assignments, employees can seek out challenges where they can develop
without feeling like mistakes will set them back in their career or jeopardize their job.
Learning organizations see problems as opportunities. This can be achieved by giving them
higher responsibilities through delegating challenging tasks.

Benefits of training to the Organisation

Improved Product and Service Delivery
According to Dessler (2005), trained employees have the ability to come up with the required
standards of quality than untrained ones. To the firm, good quality products and service

18
delivery results in brand loyalty and good reputation. Hence, an organization will without
doubt succeed. More so, high quality products and service delivery enhances customer
loyalty, thereby reducing a firm’s advertising costs.

Reduced Wastage and Costs

When employees are well trained, flaws in carrying out daily tasks are minimized, thus their
efficiency is improved (Gomz-Majia, 2002).Reduced wastage of resources results in
minimized costs to the firm, and profits are increased. Increase in profits means the
shareholders will be pleased by the high returns, and they will continue supporting the firm
and even more investors will be drawn. So as business will be flowing smoothly, workers
will be paid enough to meet their needs. Thus they will become more committed to the firm.

Enhanced Corporate Image

When employees are trained they act and work professionally. Thus, society appreciates an
organisation that is professional. This kind of training may include Grooming and etiquette,
telephone and email etiquette and customer service.

Enhances Team spirit

Butterfield and Nelson (1989) posit that, Training and Development helps in inculcating the
sense of team work, team spirit, and inter-team collaborations. It helps in inculcating the zeal
to learn within the employees.

Easy adaptation to change

Trained employees are better able to adapt to change, for example new technologies. Training
enhances the skills of employees which renders them more technologically savvy (Blckerton,
2014). This automatically means the skills of the people who are going to work with these
continuous changing technologies need continuous upgrading too.

Customer satisfaction
According to Itika (2011), trained employees make up a more efficient, effective, and highly
motivated team with high morale. As such, these happy employees are key to customer
satisfaction through quality products and good customer service provision. Employees will
keep abreast with the current job related information and customer care tips thereby
improving customer service.
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Benefits of training to the Individual
Increased Motivation and Morale
Gomz-Mejia (2007) put forth that, a trained employee can work well without supervision and
this improves independence and boosts morale. Training helps employees realize their
capabilities, capable employees feel confident and motivated in their work, they do not have
to continually ask for help from superiors.

Personal Development
When workers are well trained, and they know their jobs very well, their Curriculum Vitae
will become more marketable. And even when crisis arise within the workplace, they are
more likely to provide innovative and creative solutions. If not they can easily seek
employment elsewhere, for example if an organization retrenches or closes as with the
current Zimbabwean situation.

Helps new employees blend well with others

Induction training gives new employees a clear picture of their new working environment,
clear definition of their roles and what they are expected to do (Schain, 1996). New
employees who know what they should do and how they should do it are less stressed with
their new work environment.

Better chances of Promotion

Trained employees have better chances of moving up the ladder. For example, when an
organization opens a new branch a supervisor can be promoted to a manager and the
subordinate to the supervisor’s post. Skilled workers are able to prove their worthy since they
can now work with minimum supervision, this increases promotion prospects

Involvement in decision making

Top management can involve employees into decision making, and that is if they are well
trained. Well trained workers contribute better than untrained ones. To an employee, being
involved in board meetings means they are recognized and they will feel being part of the
organization and that their contribution is appreciated.

Improves Health and Safety

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When working with machinery, workers need to be well trained. People who work with
machinery, especially in the heavy industry, are exposed to the risk of accidents. In this case,
they will be learned enough to read and interpret the manuals. This will make them more
safety conscious when handling machinery and also the safety of those around them, is
guaranteed.

Benefits of Development to the Organisation

Motivation
Developed employees are motivated as they want to do well with the organisation and show
everything they have learned (Morrison and Hall, 2002). An individual is motivated to work
well and achieve higher levels in their positions. As there is recognition, it is an achievement,
one grows and one is prepared for responsibility.

Initiative and confident employees

The training may also build the employee's confidence because she has a stronger
understanding of the industry and the responsibilities of her job. This confidence may push
her to perform even better and think of new ideas that help her excel.

Stay ahead of competitors

According to Schain (1996) standing still can kill a business. Therefore, making sure
employees are constantly advancing, the business will continue to move forward and remain
competitive within the marketplace.

Be able to see weaknesses and skill gaps

With regular training, a business can more easily identify any gaps in the market and skill
gaps within the existing workforce (MacDonald and Hite, 2005). By identifying these gaps
early, there is time to train staff in these required areas so they can fulfill the role effectively.

Maintain knowledge and skill

Although one off training may be provided to new starters, or other employees, it is important
that training schemes are put in place to help develop skills throughout their job. To retain
knowledge, skills need to be practiced and refreshed on a regular basis so elements aren’t
forgotten.

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Advance employee skills
Once a business has spent money on providing basic level skills, these can easily be built
upon and improved to provide much more benefit to the business (Bhupendra, 2003). Staff
that knows more can bring more to the table, and the business will reap the rewards.

Provide an incentive to learn

If training is provided as part of a longer development pathway, employees will have much
more incentive to learn, participate in the session and put their new skills into practice.

Increase job satisfaction levels

Through continued investment from the business, employees can have a much higher sense of
job satisfaction, which can improve their motivation towards their work (Schain, 1996). This
reduces employee turnover and increases productivity, which directly improves the
profitability. It also prevents competitors from taking away your best employees by offering
training incentives

Provide internal promotion opportunities

According to Butterfield and Nelson (1989), employing new staff involves high recruitment
costs and hiring fees. However, Itika (2011) is of the view that, with ongoing training,
existing staff can become more eligible for internal promotions. Unlike new staff, it canbe
guaranteed that existing staff have a complete knowledge of your business, the correct skill
set and are people that you know and trust.

Attract new talent

All businesses want to have the best employees and so with ongoing training, this will not
only mean better staff retention, but the business may also attract better talent from the start,
as this gives the business a good image and is a key feature many people look for within their
job search.

Benefits of Development to an Individual

Security
Job security is one of the criteria people use to pursue certain job careers (Beer et al., 1984).
For example, in developing countries, one of the reasons why many people chose to pursue

22
career in the public service as compared to private sector is security of tenure and a clear
career path.

Autonomy
Some kind of autonomy in performing work is intrinsically rewarding. This also explains
why some individuals may prefer self-employment.

Technical and functional competencies

Mastering ones job is itself rewarding because it creates a sense of recognition and status
from colleagues and the management (Schain, 1996). Therefore, a person may have desire
and the motivation to achieve the highest levels of technical and professional competencies in
a particular field and hence grow along that career.

Creativity
Some people are more creative than others and when they are exposed to jobs that are
routine, with less opportunity to maneuver, they become bored and are likely to change career
given an opportunity.

Challenging job
Some careers pose more challenges than others. One of the reasons why some people are
ready to sacrifice their social life to achieve scientific discovery is the drive for achievement
through a challenging job. Therefore developing individuals by assigning those challenging
jobs would be satisfying to them.

Management competence

Some people make better managers than others because they have managerial attributes
which are either inherent or learned. Therefore, motivation to play a managerial role in an
organization tends to influence career choices and the development of some people.

Better chances of Promotion

Trained employees have better chances of moving up the ladder, for example, when an
organization opens a new branch a supervisor can be promoted to a manager and the
subordinate to the supervisor’s post. Skilled workers are able to prove their worthy since they

23
can now work with minimum supervision (Morrison and Hall, 2002). This increases
promotion prospects which also lead to better remuneration.

The Link with HRM Evolution

As evidenced by the above illustrations, training can be said to be centered on worker
efficiency which was the thrust of the Classical Theory of Management specifically the
Scientific Approach propounded by Fredrick Taylor during the industrial era. On the other
hand, development can be associated to Henry Fayol’s Administrative approach which
focused on the development of cognitive and affective skills of an individual.

The Link with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Training and development of employees is a motivating factor and on the pyramid of needs it
can be placed on the Esteem needs. Security needs: there is job security when an individual
has been trained and developed.

Conclusion
Having realized the importance of training and development to both the individual and the
organization, it is the role of Human Resources Department to identify the workers’ need for
training and to also provide a favorable environment for employee development in order to
achieve the organization’s goals

24
QUESTION:

Find the compensable factors needed to determine job evaluation systems (Paterson,
Castellion, Task and ZIMPLEST)

INTRODUCTION
Noe et al (2010) assert that one typical way of measuring internal job worth is to use an
administrative procedure called job evaluation. This methodology was designed by Fredrick
Taylor as a way of assigning pay to jobs to improve productivity. A job evaluation system is
composed of compensable factors and a weighting scheme classed on the importance of each
compensable factor to the organization (Noe et al, 2010). Simply stated, compensable factors
are the characteristics of jobs that an organization values and chooses to pay for. These
characteristics may include job complexity, working conditions, required education, required
experience, and responsibility.

Synonymously, Wilton (2011) defines job evaluation as a systematic approach to determine

the relative value or worth of a job within an organization, involving an evaluation of ‘job
size’. He further states that job evaluation assesses and grades the job, rather than the person,
to develop with hierarchies of jobs and pay structures and to establish internal relativities. Job
evaluation is thus the process of assessing the relative size of jobs within an organization and
there is an attempt of addressing issues of internal comparability (Beardwell and Claydon,
2010).

In Zimbabwe there are seven (7) job evaluation systems in use, the scope of this search will
be limited to discussing the Paterson, Castellion, Task and the ZIMPLEST Systems.

1. THE PATERSON SYSTEM

Thomas Paterson, the creator of the Paterson job grading system advocates that, ‘a first
principle in any grading is that individuals engaged in the process should know as little as
possible of the existing pay differentials between the jobs being graded
(www.patersongrading.co.za/about/). Gwandure and Matanda (2008) defines the Paterson
system also known as the Decision Band method as a grade definition system. All jobs in an
organization are measured and compared in terms of a single factor which is the complexity
of decision making and all jobs fit into six decision bands (Gwandure and Matanda, 2008).
?

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The Paterson grading system is an analytical method of job evaluation. It is based on the
assumption that a single factor ‘decision making’ is present in all jobs and could be used on
its own to measure job level. Swanepoel et al (2008) explains that six (6) bands of decision
making are defined in terms of the level of complexity of decisions required from job
incumbents ranging from completely defined Bands A to policy making decisions at Band F.
They further state that each of these bands except Band A is divided into upper and lower
grades, with the upper grade coordinating or supervising the work performed at the lower
grade. These are graded and grouped into two or three sub-grades that correspond to
organizational levels. The six grades, also called bands, define pay scales.
(www.eow.com.facts-6898980-paterson-job-grading-system-html).

Any job may be defined in terms of these bands of decision and by the authority relationships
which are involved. Each job is composed of tasks and competencies and the decisions
required to complete each of these are identifiable. Each person's job belongs in one of these
bands because of the decisions to be made and Paterson recognizes these decision-making
differences in the titles commonly used in industries.

There are six major factors and or dimensions to Paterson Job Evaluation. These are
summarized in the table below:

Table 1: The Paterson factors

Factor/Dimension Used for

Factor 1 Decision making/responsibility/judgement Banding

Factor 2 Supervision/Coordination of people/work Sub-banding

Factor 3 Complexity of tasks Sub-grading

Factor 4 Variety of tasks Sub-grading

Factor 5 Degree of precision required Sub-grading

Factor 6 Work pressure/physical effort Sub-grading

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Source:www.humancapitalreview.org/content/default.asp?Article_ID=257&ArticlePage_ID
=685&cntPage=2

All these factors are weighted and the total will determine the grade for each particular
individual. In essence, the Paterson grading system grades a job based on decision making
which is the major factor, supervision – which entails the span of control (responsibilities),
complexity of tasks, variety of tasks – which outlines one’s duties on a daily basis, degree of
precision required in carrying out the job and the work pressure associated with one’s
schedule or the physical effort involved. Once the factors have been determined, the six
bands in which jobs are graded are then used as illustrated below:

Table 2: Paterson grading system

Band Kind Title Grade Kind Title

10 Coordinating President (MD)

F Policy-Making Top Management
9 Policy Vice-President (Ex Dir)

8 Coordinating General Manager

E Programming Senior Management
7 Programming Admin Manager

6 Coordinating Department Manager

D Interpretive Middle Management
5 Interpretive Superintendent

4 Coordinating Supervisor
C Routine Skilled
3 Routine Technician

2 Coordinating Chargehand
B Automatic Semi-Skilled
1 Automatic Machinist

A Defined Unskilled 0 Defined Labourer

Source: http://patersongrading.co.za/about/

According to Paterson decisions are progressively more difficult to make from Grade 0 to
Grade 10, and they are progressively more important for the firm's survival and growth. They
are rewarded accordingly, the basic pay for one Grade being more than that of the Grade of

27
the next lower number by a factor which is the same from Grades 0 to 10. This factor
depends on the size of the total payroll, the kind of firm and the region where it is sited.

Paterson further describes these six kinds of decisions or levels of work which are found in
any company as follows:
a. Band F – This band constitutes the top management who are responsible for policy
making. Overall policy decisions are regarded as being superior to any other
decisions. The top-level management gives the overall direction of the firm and they
decide on policy issues in all major areas of operation, for example the Chief
Executive Officer.

b. Band E – The execution of policy is broadly planned whereby senior management

decides on organizational structure, the overall programme for major functions, the
relationship between major functions and the major operation objectives.

c. Band D - The decisions at this level often involve determining the best use of
available manpower and machinery to achieve the targets agreed upon in the
programme. Middle management decides on systems and procedures, rules and
regulations not covered by existing rules.

d. Band C - Once the rules have been set by the interpretive decisions, execution begins.
What is to be done has been decided so the next level of decision making concerns
how this is to be carried out from established processes, practice, systems, trade
knowledge and rules and regulations. They know the theory behind the operations.
They must decide ‘how’, ‘where’ and ‘when’.

e. Band B - This is work in which the processes are defined and freedom of choice is
restricted to the operations. Within the constraints of the process the workers can
decide ‘where’ and ‘when’ to carry out the operation that constitutes the process.

f. Band A - The decisions made by the worker can be defined and the worker is left with
little choice other than variation in the ‘when’ regarding the elements of an operation.
For example the cleaners.

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2. THE CASTELLION SYSTEM
The Castellion system derives its name from a combination of the Castle and Lion beer
brands. It was developed by Cortis (Biesheuval, 1977) for South African Breweries. It was
introduced into Zimbabwe by the then Rhodesia Breweries in the early seventies and is
presently used by mining, industrial, commercial, state universities, local authorities, and
parastatal organizations. Salaman and Storey (1998) states that, ‘the system can be used in all
jobs within an organization and it has the further advantage that the complexity level of jobs
can be compared across different organizations and industries’. The Castellion system
combines factor comparison and points rating method.

Castellion is a point-system which evaluates jobs on the basis of six factors, namely:

1) Decision-making: the exercise of making a choice between alternative courses of action.

2) Pressure of Work: the volume of work and the pressure under which decisions have to
be made.
3) Controls and Checks: both direct and indirect controls applied to the activities of the
incumbent.
4) Consequence of Error: possibility of losses which may result from wrong decisions or
lack of vigilance.
5) Education: level of education required to perform the duties of the job.
6) Experience: the maximum period needed for a person with the required education to
perform the duties of the job.
Each factor is broken down into various levels for point scoring purposes. Job descriptions
are given points for the various factors. Job descriptions are then analyzed and points
awarded for each factor with the total determining the grades. Though all six factors are rated
and the final job rating is an aggregate of all six evaluations, the dominant factor is decision-
making. The decision-making scale ranges from simple decisions, through
pragmatic/practical decisions to tactical/calculated decisions and strategic decisions. Factors
1 and 3-5 are allocated marks according to the complexity level of the factors, with the
simplest levels being awarded the least marks. Factors 2 and 6 are coefficients which, in each
case, are multiplied by the preceding factor to obtain a score. Once points have been allocated
to the six factors, a total score is obtained and the job is graded by slotting it into one of the
16 grades in the system. The grades range from 1-16 with either 1 or 16 being the highest

29
depending on the organization’s choice. Its main advantage is that it uses more than one
factor to compare jobs.

Categories
1 Top Executive
2-4 Executive
5-8 Senior
9 - 12 Standard
13 - 16 Labourer

3. The TASK System (Tuned Assessment Of Skills And Knowledge)

T.A.S.K. was originally developed in the early 1980’s and remains one of the most widely
used systems in Southern Africa. T.A.S.K. is installed across all economic sectors in a wide
variety of organisations. In line with world trends T.A.S.K. is also available in a
computerized version and the computerized version was introduced in 1995. (T.A.S.K. job
evaluation system, 1998)

Van Rooyen (2005) assert that the T.A.S.K. job evaluation system evaluates jobs from grade
1 up to grade 26, where grade 1 will be the lowest job and grade 26 the highest job. The
T.A.S.K. system is based on the skill level requirements of jobs at all levels and in all
functions in an organisation. All jobs, throughout an organisation, can be classified into skill
levels according to established standards.

Skill levels
The T.A.S.K. job evaluation system 5 skill levels were enunciated by (Swanepoel, et al.
2000: 542), and these are;

Level 1: Basic Skills

This skill level is that which is developed with a limited amount of training. The learning
period is short and usually consists of following instructions or watching demonstrations of
the work to be done. Competence is attained through repetition of the work during the initial
training period rather than through further experience

30
The characteristics of workers with basic skills are inclusive of very little training, deciding
on speed of operation, being taught exactly what to do, they get direct instructions,their
equipment specified, the jobs can be performed without knowledge of other jobs, deviations
from instructions not permitted, and the way operations are to be performed has been
decided. Workers of this calibre include grounds men.

Level 2: Discretionary Skills

At this level there is a certain amount of discretion or judgment involved. It therefore follows
that additional training or experience is needed following the initial training period. Skills are
acquired through a learning period and developed by constant application and correction until
operations become routine.

Characteristics
• Not everything can be taught during the training period but additional experience is
required.
• Judgment or discretion required
• Decides how the routine or operations are to be performed
• Discretion as to which tools or equipment to use
• Decides on correct action by selecting from a number of pre-set courses of action
• Knowledge of routine and
• Formulae and limits are prescribed.

Level 3: Specialised Skills

This level of skill is usually reached after years of experience and/or training. This level is
such that routines which have been learned can be used or varied to achieve the desired end
result. A full understanding of the system within which this skill operates is essential in order
to determine what is required in differing circumstances. Ability to recognise cause and effect
is necessary.

Characteristics
• Works within established rules, regulations, policies and practices
• Decides how best to achieve required end results
• Concerned with routines that are established within system(s) or part disciplines

31
  Sums up the requirements of a situation and decides which routine (technique or
procedure) to use
• Devises and introduces new routines within system(s)
• Concerned with how established organisational rules will be applied
• Supervised in terms of end results, not routines or operations and
 Must understand the interrelationships of routines within the system and the
implication of change.

Level 4: Tactical Skills

This level of skill requires conceptualisation of future actions or needs in order to formulate
short to medium term plans for or within a discipline or function. Advice, recommendations
and/or the management or tactical use of resources specific to the job are features at this
level. Positive interpretive skills and innovative plans are essential as the framework or
ground-rules either do not exist or else are vague.

Characteristics
• Decisions governed by master plan, programs or budget
• Decisions require independent reasoning
• Decisions often involve optimum allocation of resources to support plans
• Sets precedents, creates rules and must consider the consequences arising from rule
making
• Works from first principle in developing new concepts
• Knowledge of a discipline/function e.g. production, finance, sales, training
• Results of areas under control co-ordinate with those of other areas
 Translate overall company plans into working decisions for or within a function
• Decides on unique situations not covered by precedents.

Level 5: Strategic skills

This level of skill requires formulation of strategic direction as well as the underlying
organisational policy in order to set plans or major functions andor the organisation as a
whole. The ability to deal with new situations at the level of major functions together with the
business environment is essential.

32
 Characteristics
 Decisions determining the present nature and future of the organisation or a
significant part of it
 Deals with changing corporate parameters and environment of uncertainty and
personal risk and
 Understanding of the organisation and the critical interactions between major
functions with the external business environment.

Four factors of the T.A.S.K. job evaluation system

After the skill level of a post has been determined, the post is then rated against the following
four factors (T.A.S.K. job evaluation training manual, 2003).

I. Complexity
This is a measurement of the different levels of difficulty required to be performed within
a job.
II. Knowledge
This factor refers to the amount of know-how required in a job to allow an incumbent to
cope competently with the work involved. This may be acquired through education
and/or equivalent training experience.
III. Influence
The extent of influence allowed (or power vested in the job) to produce effects on others
either inside and/or outside the organisation.
IV. Pressure
This refers to stresses inherent in the job and can be either mental, physical or both.
Consideration should be typically over a month. The number and type of subordinates is
a contributory factor.

4. THE ZIMPLEST SYSTEM

It was originated in Zimbabwe in the 1960s by Bob Martin. It is also known as the Bob
Martin System. In Zimbabwe it is used by the textile, hotel, printing and tea industries.
The factors assessed are:
1. Education.
2. Training and experience.

33
3. Job knowledge and skill.
4. Initiative and judgment.
5. Accuracy and quality of work.
6. Decisions and problems.
7. Physical effort.
8. Mental and visual effort.
9. Contact with people within the organisation.
10. Contact with people outside the organisation.

The system uses job specifications rather than job descriptions. All jobs in the organisation
from the highest to the lowest, are subjected to the same job evaluation criteria. Although this
is generally the position with most job evaluation systems, in some organisations more than
one job evaluation system may be used to cater for the needs of managerial and non-
managerial employees.

34
QUESTION:

Outline and discuss the goals and functions of HRM.

INTRODUCTION

Wilton (2011) defines human resources management (HRM or simply HR) as the term
commonly used to describe all those organizational activities concerned with recruiting and
selecting, designing work or, training and developing, appraising and rewarding, directing,
motivating and controlling workers. This definition coincides with Armstrong (2006) when
he states that human resources management is a strategic and coherent approach to the
management of an organization’s most valued assets – the people working there who
individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of its objectives. A clinical
assessment of these definitions seem to point that HRM involves strategically and
purposefully managing people in a diplomatic and sensitive manner, through the use of
various organisational activities, with the hope of effectively -achieving organisational
objectives.

GOALS OF HRM.

Every organisation has some human resources objectives that directly or indirectly contribute
to the attainment of the desired objectives (Chandramohan, 2008). These human resources
goals or objectives include staffing, performance, change management and administration
and they are the underlying goals of HR which serve to support the HR functions. They
subsequently enable managers not only to ensure compliance with legislation but also to
enable a move towards the strategic development of an organisation. At the most basic level,
the mission of HRM is to support the viability of the firm through stabilizing a cost-effective
and socially legitimate system of labour management (Boxall et al, 2007).

a. Staffing

Staffing ensures that suitably qualified staff are available at the right time in the appropriate
place. This involves identifying the nature of the job and implementing a recruitment and
selection process to ensure a correct match. Once people are recruited, the staffing objectives
need to ensure that there is retention of the employees, either through a reward package
and/or development process.

35
b. Performance

These are a continuation of the staffing objectives. Employees need to be continuously

motivated in order for them to perform effectively and this can take place through the training
development processes. These processes are often used to close the gap between current
performance and expected future performance. They can also be used for maintaining
commitment and empowerment. Performance targets may be introduced through an appraisal
system where employers invite members of staff to discuss their performance and future
ambitions and develop strategies to enable them to be met.

c. Change-Management

In order to keep abreast with the fast-paced development in the modern technology, change-
management objectives are essential and effective in organisational innovativeness and
efficiency. Organisations need to be adaptable and flexible, which means that policies and
objectives need to be in place to manage change.

d. Administration

For smooth operations of the organisation, administrative objectives are fundamental and
should be complied with. These involve paying employees timely and regularly, compliance
and adherence to the legislation of taxations, and data accuracy, transparency, maintenance
and relevance to the organisation’s goals. Administration objectives encompass equal
opportunities and managing for diversity, as well as those that deal with remuneration,
reward, retention and training.

FUNCTIONS OF HRM

Schuler and Jackson (2006) highlight that human resources activities include the formal HR
policies developed by the company as well as the actual ways these policies are implemented
in the daily practices of supervisors and managers. Hence, the more that policies and
practices are aligned and the more systematic companies are in creating HR activities to fit
36
the organisation and its environment, the more effective the organisation is likely to be. Beer
(1997) asserts that the concept of what constitutes a ‘strategic HR function’ has varied over
time, but it is primarily identified with integrating people management policies and practices
into strategic decision-making and business performance. A human resources management
system is created when an organisation systematically understands, creates, coordinates,
aligns, and integrates all of their policies and practices (Schuler and Jackson, 2006).

Chandramohan (2008) explicitly outlines two major functions of HRM; managerial functions
and operative function as illustrated in Figure 2.

Figure 2: HRM Functions

Source: (Chandramohan, 2008. Human Resources Management, p. 15)

1. MANAGERIAL FUNCTION

As illustrated in Figure 2 above, the managerial function of HR involves the basic

management functions of:

a. Planning: This involves a strategically predetermined course of action where

organizational objectives and formulation of policies and programmes for achieving
them are mapped out. Strategy is about deciding where you want to go and how you

37
 mean to get there. It is a declaration of intent: ‘This is what we want to do and this is
how we intend to do it’ (Armstrong, 2006).
b. Organising: Involves delegating each subordinate a specific task, establishing
departments, delegating authority to subordinates, establishing channels of authority
and communication, and coordinating the work of subordinates.

c. Staffing: This is a process by which managers select, train, promote and retire the
subordinates. It involves in deciding the type of people to be hired, recruiting
prospective employees, selecting employees, setting performance standard,
compensating employees, evaluating performance, counselling employees, training
and developing employees.

d. Directing: This is the process of activating group efforts to achieve the desired goals.

e. Controlling: This is the process of setting standards for performance, constantly

checking to see how actual performance compares with these set standards and taking
corrective action in case of any deviations.

2. OPERATIVE FUNCTION

The operative functions of HR are concerned with a diversity of undertakings that

considerably impact almost all facets of an organization. These include procurement,
development, compensation, integration and maintenance as highlighted in Figure 2.
Synonymously, Fisher et al (2005), illustrate operative HRM functions as part of the HRM
Model as shown in Figure 3.

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 EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT: Economy Government Labour markets Competitors Demographics

ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
 Management’s goals and values
HUMAN RESOURCES FUNCTIONS
 Corporate culture
Planning for Organisations, jobs, and people
 Strategy
 Strategic HRM
 Technology
 Human Resources Planning
 Structure
 Job analysis
 Size
Acquiring Human Resources
 Equal Employment Opportunity
 Recruiting
EMPLOYEES JOBS  Selection
Building Performance
 Motivation  Requirements  Human resource development
 Abilities  Rewards
 Human resource approaches to
 Interests improving competitiveness
 Personality Rewarding employees
 Attitudes  Performance appraisal
 Compensation and benefits
Maintaining Human Resources
JOB OUTCOMES  Safety and health
 Performance  Labour relations
 Productivity  Employment transitions
 Quality Managing Multinational HRM
 Satisfaction
 Retention

ORGANISATIONAL OUTCOMES Survival Competitiveness Growth Profitability

Figure 3: The Human Resources Management Model

Source: Fisher et al (2005). Human Resources Management

An organisation does not leave in a vacuum, it is encompassed with both the external and
internal factors that contribute to its wellbeing. A combination of the external environment
(economy, labour market, government, competitors and demographics), and the
organisational environment, (the management’s goals and values, corporate culture, strategy,
technology, structure and size), are the major determinants to the organisational outcomes
(survival, competitiveness, growth and profitability). The HR functions play a crucial role in
aligning the employees to effectively and efficiently execute their jobs so as to realise job
outcomes, which are, performance, productivity, quality, satisfaction and retention. Hence,
the two illustrations from Figure 1 and Figure 2 have been integrated to come up with the
following principal functions:

a. Planning for Organisations, Jobs, and People

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This function involves the procurement of human resources where activities such as job
analysis, recruitment, selection, placement, induction, transfer, promotion and separation are
deliberately planned for and outlined. Top management has come to a point of realisation that
HR needs to be closely integrated with managerial planning and decision-making in order to
ascertain the effectiveness and productivity of a business venture. For instance, a decision to
open a new facility should be made only after considering the availability of labour at the
location and the availability of experienced managers to run the facility.

b. Acquiring human resources

Implementation of the plan course of action is a function of HRM that seeks to create equal
employment opportunity (EEO) for suitably qualified personnel within the legal environment
despite their gender. Recruiting and job search takes places and job candidates are assessed
using appropriate tools for selection. Acquiring human resources also involves integrating
organisational behaviour issues such as motivation, job-satisfaction, grievance redressal,
collective bargaining, conflict management, participation of employees and discipline to
ensure that employees individually and collectively achieve organisational objectives.

c. Building individual and organisational performance

This function aims to facilitate employee progression. More often than not, many
organisations spend substantial sums to train and develop their employees. Development of
human resources incorporates activities such as performance appraisals, training, executive
development, and career planning and development. Fisheret al (2006) posit that training and
development may be implemented by formal and informal procedures, for example, training
programs at a university or on-job training respectively. Hence, the need to be competitive in
a global economy along with changing demographics and value of workers has resulted in the
realization that a vigour needs to be applied to elements which have to do with progression.

d. Rewarding employees

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Rewarding employees or compensation includes activities such as job evaluation, wages
salary administration, bonus and incentives and pay roll. Performance assessment and
management are the means by which organisations assess how well employees are
performing and determine appropriate rewards or remedial actions (Fisher et al, 2006). The
HR Practitioner is inclined to working with line managers to establish performance
dimensions to be measured, as well as the appraisal procedures to ensure accuracy.
Allocating rewards is a complex and specialised activity which is determined by the logical
result of the performance assessment process. Rewards include both the direct compensation
(salary and hourly wages) and indirect compensation (benefits) that organisations offer to
employees in turn for their effort.

e. Maintaining human resources

Employees have different needs and problems that may be caused by external or internal
factors, therefore, the HRM does not stop once employees are hired, trained and paid.
Additional issues relating to retaining and maintaining a healthy, willing work are considered.
Maintenance of employees involves concerns of health, safety, social security, welfare
scheme, personnel records, and personnel research and personnel audit. HRM should seek to
continuously establish and maintain effective relationships with employees. The process of
collective bargaining requires unionised companies to negotiate with employee
representatives on wages (e.g. base pay, increases, overtime), benefits (e.g. vacations,
holidays, pensions), hours (e.g. breaks, clean-up time), and other conditions of work, such as
seniority, discipline and discharge procedures (Fisher et al, 2006). Another function of HR is
to manage employee transitions. This includes career structures and career planning systems
for managing internal promotions and transfers, as well as transitions at the boundary of the
organisation in the form of exits.

f. Multinational Human Resources Management

Foreign firms are establishing plants and operations outside the borders of their countries of
origin, therefore, multinational human resources will need to be managed effectively. These
include the United States of America, Europe, China and Russia. The HRM objectives
according to Fisher et al (2006) of these firms are to:

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  Develop managers who are ready and willing to work effectively abroad;
 Select foreign nationals as employees for these overseas sites;
 Develop foreign nationals with broad training and background to assume
management responsibility in the overseas locations; and
 Develop and implement HR policies and practices that optimally merge the concerns
of both the home country and the host country.

CONCLUSION

Human resources management is therefore an art - that if handled properly, can establish an
effective working environment, but if poorly administered, can lead the organisation into
oblivion. Strategy is the most essential tool which outlines the blueprint the HR Practitioner
is supposed to adhere to with a high degree of precision. It is the duty of the HR Practitioner
to ensure that the goals of human resources are achieved through the effective adoption of the
outlined functions which collectively lead to the holistic attainment of organisational
objectives.

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QUESTION 2:
Outline and discuss the legal and ethical issues in HRM

INTRODUCTION
The Human Resources Practitioner is faced with the daunting task of keeping the company
out of trouble with the law. Most organizations are deeply concerned with potential legal
responsibility resulting from personnel decisions that may violate laws enacted by the
relevant authorities. Efficiency in human resources management (HRM) is largely dependent
upon the organization’s ability to comply with government regulations. The Legal
Framework in Zimbabwe’s sources of labour law include the Common Law, the Legislation,
the Trade usage and customs, the Legal writings, and the International and regional labour
law (Industrial Psychology Consultants, 2014). For a firm to operate within this legal
framework, it needs to keep abreast with the external legal environment and the
organization’s rules and regulations; as well as ensuring compliance of the aforementioned
statutes. Any Human Resources Practitioner who is blind to the legal aspects that guide the
management of human resources leads an organization into obscurity.

LEGAL ISSUES
Beardwell and Claydon (2010) define HRM as a collection of policies used to organize work
in the relationship and centres on the management of work and the management of people
who undertake this work. In both public and private organisations, policies are governed by
external best practices, as well as internal company acts. For instance, in government
ministries, the human resources functions are guided by the Public Service Statutory
Instruments 1 of 2000 and Public Service Act (Chapter 16.04). Richardson & Thompson’s
(1999) defined best practices in human resources management as, “a set of guidelines,
strategies, activities or approaches that have been proven through research and evaluation to
be effective and are used as a benchmark such that, when implemented, they improve an
organization’s performance and efficiency”.

According to the Labour Act of Zimbabwe Chapter 28:01, an act is to declare and define the
fundamental rights of employees; to give effect to the international obligations of the
Republic of Zimbabwe as a member state of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and
as a member of or party to any other international organisation or agreement governing
conditions of employment which Zimbabwe would have ratified:
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  to define unfair labour practices;
 to regulate conditions of employment and other related matters;
 to provide for the control of wages and salaries;
 to provide for the appointment and functions of workers committees;
 to provide for the formation, registration and functions of trade unions, employer
organizations and employment councils;
 to regulate the negotiation, scope and enforcement of collective bargaining
agreements;
 to provide for the establishment and functions of the Labour Court;
 to provide for the prevention of trade disputes, and unfair labour practices;
 to regulate and control collective job action;
 to regulate and control employment agencies; and
 to provide for matters connected with or incidental to the foregoing.

In addition, ILO Convention No. 87 (1948) advocates for the Freedom of Association and
Protection and the right to organize, which, grant employers and workers the right to form
and join organisations of their own choice. Employees’ entitlement to membership of trade
unions and workers committees should be a fundamental right for workers. According to the
Labour Act of Zimbabwe Chapter 28:01, “a Workers Committee is there to represent
employees in any matter affecting their rights and interests and workers are entitled to
negotiate with employers for a collective bargaining agreement relating to the terms and
conditions of employment of employees concerned”.

The Labour Act of Zimbabwe is synonymous with the Swaziland Employment Act of 1980
which seeks to consolidate the law in relation to employment and to introduce new provisions
designed of improve the status of employees. The Act encompasses issues such as contracts
of employment, protection of wages, registration of employers, foreign contracts of
employment, recruiting, employment of women, young persons, children and domestic
employees, employment services, and annual holidays and sick leave. The HR Practitioner
should be well-versed in these provisions to ensure that employees’ rights are safeguarded
and complied with.

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All these conventions provide rules and regulations that provide invaluable benchmarks
concerning the rights and duties of workers, employers, unions and governments in regulating
the workplace and settlement of industrial disputes. The legal aspect in HRM provides
protection from discrimination to current and potential employees. The Anti-Discrimination
Act of 1991 strives to promote equality of opportunity for everyone by protecting them from
unfair discrimination in certain areas of activity and from sexual harassment and certain
associated objectionable conduct. Chapter 2 Part 4 Division 2:15 of the acts stipulates that:
(1) A person must not discriminate—
a. in any variation of the terms of work; or
b. in denying or limiting access to opportunities for promotion, transfer, training or
other benefit to a worker; or
c. in dismissing a worker; or
d. by denying access to a guidance program, an apprenticeship training program or
other occupational training or retraining program; or
e. in developing the scope or range of such a program; or
f. by treating a worker unfavourably in any way in connection with work.
(2) In this section— dismissing includes ending the particular work of a person by forced
retirement, failure to provide work or otherwise.

Taking into cognizance the essence of legal considerations, human resources practitioners
must therefore understand the legal issues that affect the HRM practices conscientising
employees on their rights. For example, if an employee has had an accident at work, how can
he or she be compensated?

Complying with laws enhance an organization’s reputation as well as enabling fair practices
which results in attainment of competitive advantage. It also helps an organisation in doing
the right thing and ensures that proactive measures are in place. This also has direct
implications of reducing legal risks and costs that might be incurred when handling industrial
relations issues. Noncompliance with laws can lead to discriminatory practices, create
potential legal liability, lead to poor employee morale and low job satisfaction; which in turn
will result in poor job performance and increased litigation. For instance, in a case of
University of Zimbabwe, lecturers were unfairly dismissed and a ruling from the High Court,
which was in favour of the lecturers, resulted in the institution facing increased financial
costs in arbitral awards.
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Where law issues are concerned, all employment decisions, be it on hiring, promotion, pay,
discipline, and compensation terms, should be adhered to the latter, if at all an organisation
values its valuable human resource. Considering the laws affecting HRM, the concept of
Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) has undergone much modification and fine-tuning
since the passage of the Civil Rights Act in 1964 (Human Resources Management,
MGT501). The Equal Pay Act of 1963’s main objective was to establish equal pay for equal
work among men and women. The declaration of purpose cites that:
The Congress finds that the existence in industries engaged in commerce or in the production
of goods for commerce of wage differentials based on sex:
1) depresses wages and living standards for employees necessary for their health and
efficiency;
2) prevents the maximum utilization of the available labor resources;
3) tends to cause labor disputes, thereby burdening, affecting, and obstructing
commerce;
4) burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce; and
5) constitutes and unfair methods of competition.

Consequently, the amended Equal Pay Act of 1970 Chapter 41:01 Section 1 of the section
stipulates that:
Employers give equal treatment as regards terms and conditions of employment to men and
to women, that is to say that:
a) for men and women employed on like work the terms and conditions of one sex are
not in any respect less favourable than those of the other; and
b) for men and women employed on work rated as equivalent the terms and conditions of
one sex are not less favourable than those of the other in any respect in which the
terms and conditions of both are determined by the rating of their work.

Hence, EEO is a combination of legislative and judicial policies set forth by federal, state,
and local governments that ensures fair and equal treatment of all persons. More often than
not, many laws are being passed and court decisions are being made that affect the everyday
actions of HRM. A continuous research by organizations is therefore essential to keep abreast
with the laws and regulations that are continuously reviewed to match current trends.

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On other hand, Trade Unions are also formed to safeguard the interest of its member workers
where HR activities like recruitment, selection, training, compensation, industrial relations
and separation are carried out in consultation with trade union leaders (Human Resources
Management MGT501). The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) has a mandate of
protecting the lowly paid. It also took the policy of affirmative action in employment to
ensure that the indigenous people have a chance to get high posts in both the public and
private sectors (The Labour Market and Economic Development). Due to divergent views
were stakeholders like society, community, customers, employees and shareholders are
concerned, it is imperative that every management should have legal backing in order to
defend and explain its decisions.

ETHICAL ISSUES
Human resources is a key factor in all activities. In addition human resources practitioners
should play a leading and monitoring role in the management of corporate reputation by
conducting regular vulnerability audits and by offering guidelines for the development of a
management strategy (Werner et al, 2011). Synonymously, Fisher (2006) asserts that the
human resources manager has a special role in ensuring that the organization deals fairly and
ethically with its employees and that employees’ deal fairly with one another, the
organization, and clients. Ethics are important for individuals as well as for organizations. If
ethical practice is not responsibly acknowledged and housed somewhere within the
organization with a plan to create an ethical culture, executives run the risk of liability.

Ethics in HRM indicates the treatment of employees with ordinary decency and distributive
justice. Ethics in HRM basically deals with the affirmative moral obligations of the employer
towards employees to maintain equality and equity justice (www.thecodeexpert.com). Ethical
behaviour contributes to a positive corporate reputation. It facilitates retention of competent
employees. Werner et al (2011) refers to corporate reputation as what people generally
believe or say about a person or organisation. It entails three components, that is; perception,
corporate identity and reality. The issues of ethics should indeed remain high on the corporate
agenda; organisations with good reputation are more competent as customers develop more
trust in them and their products, and they draw the best and most competent employees (Nel
et al, 2010).

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There is enough evidence to show that unethical practices, such as creating split in union
leaders, reneging on company pension agreements, coercion, biased attitude in selection,
transfer, and promotion, the use of disputed and dubious practices in firing of personnel,
sexual harassment especially in a hierarchical relationship, romantic involvements,
organizational injustice, and dishonesty harm a company’s reputation (Werner et al, 2011).
An example is the Zimbabwean parastatal, Public Service Medical Aid Society (PSMAS)-
whose Board members has been involved in unethical acts, receiving exorbitant salaries and
bonuses whilst paying the shop floor workers meagre salaries. This has caused damage not
only to the workers, but the organisation and looking at the bigger picture, to the country’s
reputation as well - on the local, regional and international arena.

An ethical culture thus, should be established in an organisation of which the human

resources managers are responsible. Strategies which can be employed to foster an ethical
culture within the organisation according to Werner et al (2011) include:
1. Promoting ethical leadership – top management should be role models and adopt the
‘do what I do’ principle as opposed to the ‘do what I say’ principle.
2. Involving the trade unions in creating an ethical culture
3. Forming an ethics committee – ensures continuous defining of standards and
procedures, communication of these to employees and as well as ensuring compliance.
4. Develop a code of ethics – enforce compliance by consistent training, rewards to those
who comply and penalties to those who do not comply. In addition, Reece and Brandt
(2008) asserts that an ethics code can be a powerful force in building a culture of
honesty, but only if it is enforced without exception
5. Conduct an ethics audit
6. Hire with Care – the hiring process should be given a very high priority, never hire any
employee without checking the references and conducting a lengthy rigorous job
interview (Reece and Brandt 2008).
7. Scrutinize policies for fairness
8. Conduct ethics training
9. Make ethical conduct a performance outcome
10. Improve recruitment and selection tests by following the recruitment policy.
11. Instituting careful health and safety practices, informing employees of potentially
hazardous working conditions, and taking responsibility for occupational disease and
stress-related illnesses traceable to working conditions.
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12. Providing equal pay for work of comparable worth
13. Providing ways for employees to voice their concerns and not illegally constraining
employees from exercising their right to form a union

Both laws and ethical issues need to be managed proactively if a positive corporate reputation
is to be fostered. Objectives of reputation management according to Werner et al (2011) are
to:
a. Maintain a favourable and excellent reputation in the work and marketplace
b. Enhance and build the organization’s good name and reputation
c. Establish acceptable practices, policies, procedures, systems and standards that will
avoid damage to the reputation
d. Attract better talent
e. Being able to retain and motivate key talent
f. A more diverse workforce
g. Increased employee satisfaction
h. Improved competitiveness
i. Long term tenacity

CONCLUSION
Adherence to laws and ethical standards has become the bedrock of socially responsible
behaviour. People’s expectations are that their employers will behave ethically and will abide
by laws and regulations. Take note that, these issues are two faced, both the employer and
employee must comply to laws and ethical standards if at all a relationship between the two
should be build, maintained and sustained.

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QUESTION:

HRM is a case of simply putting new wine in old bottles. Discuss

INTRODUCTION

Human Resource Management (HRM) and/or Personnel Management (PM) has become a
very vital part of the management process in the twenty-first century, compared to the past, it
is drawing considerable attention in managerial debates and strategic planning of
organizations. According to Storey (1995), 'human resource management (HRM) has been
and remains highly controversial', a position that Keenoy (1999) has approved it while
defining the contemporary situation of Human Resource Management. The HRM has
emerged its significance by relying on key terms such as leadership vs. management, training
and development, empowerment, flat organizational structure, motivational systems,
teamwork etc. For many, they are nothing but a nice expression, but in the dog-eat-dog
market they seem to play a vital role, winning competitive advantage for industry players
(Wright et al, 1992). Seemingly, the variety of different understandings of key differences
between HRM and PM, if any at all, exists among professional managers. Some people
believe it is the same old wine in a new bottle holding a fancy label; it is just a contemporary
word.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

• Human Resource Management (HRM) is a process of making the efficient and

effective use of human resources so that the set goals are achieved. It is concerned
with acquiring their services, developing their skills, motivating them to higher levels
of performance and ensuring that they continue to maintain their commitment to the
organization is essential to achieve organizational objectives, as defined by Tichaona
Muzuwa (lecturer at CUT)

 Personnel Management---is a process of selecting, developing, rewarding and

directing employees in such a way that not only will they achieve satisfaction and
give of their best at work but by so doing enable the employing organization to
achieve its organization as defined by the website thinking made easy
www.tonyfab@gmail.com.

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 • “New wine in old bottles”---a process of adding new ideas to existing ones on a
particular subject.

BODY

DIFFERENCES

Objectives

Personnel management is a predominantly administrative record-keeping function that aims

to establish and maintain equitable terms and conditions of employment. Human resource
management integrates the traditional personnel management functions to corporate goals
and strategies, and performs additional people-centered organizational developmental
activities.

Difference in Application
Personnel management is an independent staff function of an organization, with little
involvement from line managers, and no linkage to the organization's core process. Human
resource management, on the other hand, remains integrated with the organization's core
strategy and functions. Although a distinct human resource department carries out much of
the human resource management tasks, human resource initiatives involve the line
management and operations staff heavily.

Personnel management also strives to reconcile the aspirations and views of the workforce
with management interest by institutional means such as collective bargaining, trade union-
based negotiations and similar processes. This leads to fixation of work conditions applicable
for all, and not necessarily aligned to overall corporate goals. Human Resource management
gives greater thrust on dealing with each employee independently and gives more importance
to customer-focused developmental activities and facilitating individual employees rather
than bargaining or negotiating with trade unions.

Finally, in any discussion of personnel management versus human resource management, we

must include that personnel management lays down rigid job description with many grades
and a fixed promotion policy--usually based on seniority and performance appraisal ratings.
Human resource management, on the other hand, has relatively fewer grades and ranks, with

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broadly defined job responsibilities providing much scope for applying creativity and
initiative, and plenty of career paths, with skills, talent and commitment the key drivers of
career advancement.

Job design
Brian Tracy stated that in personnel management, job design is done on the basis of division
of labor. Under human resource management, job design function is done on the basis of
group work/team work.

Difference in Approach
The personnel management approach tends to attach much importance to norms, customs and
established practices, whereas the human resource approach gives importance to values and
mission. The personnel management approach also concerns itself with establishing rules,
policies, procedures, and contracts, and strives to monitor and enforce compliance to such
regulations, with careful delineation of written contract. The human resource management
approach remains impatient with rules and regulations. HR managers tend to relax rules
based on business needs and exigencies, and aim to go by the spirit of the contract rather than
the letter of the contract. An illustration of this difference in approach lies in the treatment of
employee motivation. The personnel management approach holds employee satisfaction as
the key to keeping employees motivated, and institutes compensation, bonuses, rewards, and
work simplification initiatives as possible motivators. The human resource philosophy holds
improved performance as the driver of employee satisfaction, and devises strategies such as
work challenges, team work, and creativity to improve motivation.

The Scope of Services

Human Resource Management is broader in scope than Personnel Management. The scope of
personnel management includes functional activities such as manpower planning,
recruitment, job analysis, job evaluation, payroll administration, performance appraisals,
labor law compliance, training administration, and related tasks. Human resources
management includes all these activities plus organizational developmental activities such as
leadership, motivation, developing organizational culture, communication of shared values,
and so forth. The human resource management approach remains integrated to the company’s
core strategy and vision. It seeks to optimize the use of human resources for the fulfillment of
organizational goals. This strategic and philosophical context of human resource management

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makes it more purposeful, relevant, and more effective compared to the personnel
management approach

Duties and responsibilities

According to Legge Karen(2004), personnel management is regarded to be more

administrative in nature. Personnel management basically deals with the employees, their
payroll and employment laws. On the other hand, Human Resources Management deals with
the management of the work force, and contributes to an organization’s success.

Difference in Nature
Another dimension of the difference is the proactive nature of human resource management
compared to the reactive nature of personnel management.

Personnel management remains aloof from core organizational activities, functions

independently, and takes a reactive approach to changes in corporate goals or strategy.
Human resource management remains integrated with corporate strategy and takes a
proactive approach to align the workforce toward achievement of corporate goals.
For instance, while the personnel management approach concerns itself with a reactive
performance appraisal process, human resource management approach has a more
comprehensive and proactive performance management system that aims to correct
performance rather than make a report card of past performance.

Collective bargaining

According to Surbhi (30 May 2015), the personal management negotiations are based on
collective bargaining with the union leader. Conversely, in human resources management
there is no need for collective bargaining as individual contracts exist with each employee.

SIMILARITIES

Recruitment and selection

One basic similarity between personnel management and HRM is that both regard putting the
right people on the right jobs as one of the overall goals of managing people at the workplace

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(Legge 1989: 26). Furthermore, both approaches share the same fields of activity (Armstrong
2001: 18), from recruitment and selection to remuneration and performance management.
Both human and personal management aim at attracting a pool of qualified employees
through the process of making advertisements on the radio, newspaper or even on the
television among others. They both undertake the process of selecting the perfect candidates
through eliminating the excess applicants in the form of tests, interviews or their level of
qualifications.

They both deal with challenges in multinational organizations

Both HRM and Personnel Management must deal with the challenges in the multinational
organization. As organizations focus toward international markets, they must consider the
challenges of operating in a variety of global communities. Effective management of
employees is of critical importance in the global marketplace as multinational organizations
face greater diversity in the labor workforce, and as a result, must develop a system that is
flexible and adaptable to a wide variety of cultural situations. When entering a new country, a
business cannot simply export its own employment practices. Therefore, the best ways to
manage employees globally could provide an edge to the organization.

Provision of benefits and compensations to employees

Both HRM and Personnel Management are concerned with providing the employees with
appropriate benefits and compensations. This in an important area of employee management
as no one works for free. Furthermore, whomever offering the best terms of employment
would attract the best employees. Besides offering an attractive salary, the HRM and
Personnel Management must also be aware of other benefits, such as time-off and
accommodations. Therefore the duty of benefit-planning and compensation rests on the HRM
and Personnel Management’s shoulders. Regardless of the theory that one approach offers
better terms, both approaches must still provide an appropriate set of employment terms. It is
not something that could be omitted.

Provision of training platforms for employee retention

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Another similarity is to provide these employees with appropriate training in employee
retention, a perfect example is it is estimated that US businesses spend close to $60 billion
annually on internally run training and education programs in training employees. This
demonstrates how important it is for each organization to developing the employees’ skills
and knowledge for the future of the company, ensuring that their employees remain
competitive with rest of the market. Therefore, HRM and Personnel Management, although
having different names and approaches, could not deny the fact that their primary goal is to
get the people to work for their respective organizations. Otherwise the organizations would
have no employee issues to deal with and worry about.

Employee oriented

The following similarity is that both approaches are meant to solve employee’s problems.
Whenever an employee has an issue that needs attention, the HRM and Personnel
Management are there to interfere and solve the problem. Problems include those at
workplace and also off the field, such as problems and disputes with fellow employees and
personal problems. The HRM and Personnel Management could not ignore these issues as
employees are human beings who experience emotional downturns and issues that could
affect their productivity.

CONCLUSION

To cap it all, we can conclude that to a greater extent Human Resource Management is a case
of putting new wine in old bottles because it brought about a different approach, a different
application, a different nature, different duties and roles and added more scope of services to
those that were in Personnel Management.

55
QUESTION 18:

The perception and dynamism of the psychological contracts makes it easy to break the
contract. Discuss.

Introduction

Psychological Contract is a complex concept and dynamic meaning that it is not fixed or
static and it contains beliefs and feelings which can fluctuate. The complexities and
dynamics of psychological contract is clear given that it is essentially driven by people's
feelings. Therefore it cannot be measured or defined in fixed terms like a salary or a
timesheet. As a concept, the Psychological Contract will continue to evolve and change, in
both its effects and its definitions.

The Psychological Contract combines the effects of at least two highly complicated systems,
i.e. an individual person's thoughts, and an organization's behaviour towards that person. The
perceived breach in the psychological contract often results in the employee deliberately
reducing their effort towards work and customers. Conversely it is also true that employees
whose psychological contract is satisfied have a high level of commitment and organizational
support. Below are some of the factors that cause psychological contracts to change and
violated.

Employee expectations may include obvious things such as fair day’s pay, as well as softer
issues such as personal support, justice, equal opportunities for advancement, job security,
future career, and employability. Organisation expectations may refer to working hard , as
well as more subtle expectations such as loyalty, making efforts to achieve organisational
objectives, dedication, and commitment.

Definition of terms

Nick Wilton, (2011) defines psychological contract as an unwritten contract between

employers and employees which covers a series of mutual expectations and satisfaction of
needs arising from the people-organisation relationship.

Dynamism is the quality of ever-changing business demands which is caused by volatility of

business environmental factors characterised by constant changing

56
Perception is a way of regarding, understanding or interpretation of something (Oxford
University Press)

Contract is a lawful agreement, made by two or more persons within the limits of their
contractual capacity, with the serious intention of creating an obligation

Organisation is a systematically arranged body of people with a purpose of a business.

PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT CHANGES DUE TO EXTERNAL FACTORS

External forces such as political, economic, social, technological developments and legal can
also influence employees and employers expectations to change, thus making the
psychological contract a dynamic one which must be constantly renegotiated. Far-reaching
changes in society, as well as the global economy, are creating dramatic changes in the
psychological contracts in many business organisations. It is important to at each of these
external factors as see how they influence psychological contract to change.

1. POLITICAL ENVIROMENT
Psychological contract can change due to political environment in which the company is
operating. Issues of politics such as violent political disturbances, political statements and
political policies can affect company performance / profitability either in the negative or
positive direction, thus causing both the organisation and employees to change their
perceptions. Many companies were also affected during election campaigns as many political
parties come up with different economic election manifestos.

This political environment had a net effect of influencing company viability and directions
thus causing a change in employee-employer perceptions. The change in perceptions created
a new psychological contract when management expected lower employees to keep pace with
changes whilst employees impliedly look for unconditional support to be able to keep pace
with changes expected thus at the end there is no fulfilment of expectations from either sides
as a result violating or breaching the original perceptions / beliefs for both sides.

2. ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

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Psychological contract can change due economic environment which may be caused by
market competition and economic activities. Demands of the modern economic environment
have resulted in both the company and the employee having a changed psychological contact.

It has been observed that there is an increasingly dramatic changes in psychological contracts
brought about by the ever-faster and vigorous economic forces. The overall performance of
economy of any country will affect the profitability and viability of companies.

When the economic environment is stable and conducive for development companies tend to
do better and have high chances of meeting employee perceptions, but if the economic
environment is unstable the organisation fails to meet expectations of the employees such as
due care, on the other hand employees may not observe commitment to organisational
success which is an obvious act of breach of the psychological contract.

3. SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

Psychological contract can change due social and demographic environment. Today workers
are increasingly becoming more mobile, flexible and adaptable and can no longer stay
dutifully, hoping to work for the same employer for as long as the employer needs them.
Today most educated workers can easily find alternative employment as compared to twenty
years ago. They are not limited to working in their local towns, or regions, or not even in the
same country. In fact with modern technology geographical location for many workers is now
irrelevant, and will continue to be so in future.

Psychological contract is changing due to the connectivity of workers in today’s world. In

past times, trade unions were the vehicle for people-power. Instead today there is an increase
in the use of the internet and modern social networking which results in improved
communication and availability of more information. Today many Zimbabweans are
changing job by making application for new job in greener pastures through the internet.
Therefore employees expect employability environment in which an organisation may not be
aware of, in turn many of Meikles Limited’s perceptions like commitment are no longer
static, but are now being frequently being violated, breached and changing as employees and
organisations do not have permanent or long term relationship.

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 4. GLOBALISATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES
Psychological contract can change due globalization and technology environment. Modern
technology, which the younger generations understand and exploit infinitely better than older
people, is liberating most of the younger employees. Historically workers relied on employers
for access to technology but currently employers are now progressively depending on
employees for its optimisation.

Globalization and technology have shifted everything about organized work onto an entirely
different level in terms of complexity, rate of change, connectivity and the mobility of people
and activities. There are also significant changes under way specifically involving attitudes to
traditional corporations, markets and governance. The significance and complexity of
psychological contract have grown in response to all of these changes and given that the
world of work will continue to change in very big ways, so the significance and complexity
of the contract will grow even more. In Zimbabwe Meikles Ltd has introduced the latest
technology in accounting department of Computer Aided Assistance Technology in Harare,
Gweru and Bulawayo, and the company impliedly expect continuous learning from
employees which is not fulfilled and this will obviously influence the psychological contrast
with its workers.

5. LEGAL ISSUES
Psychological contract can change due the country’s legal issues. Laws enacted by the
government in terms of industry and commence can equally affect the economic performance
and viability of companies. Such laws may increase in duty or emption of duty and other
tariffs. In Zimbabwe the other legal issues include the Labour Act and the Supreme Court
ruling of 17 July 2015 regarding 3 months notices.

The mere fact that employees had no job security meant that their perceptions or
psychological contract with organisations / employer had to change. This resulted in Meikles
Ltd’s employees impliedly sought opportunities for development while the company believe
the employee should manage their career. Psychological contract is therefore being easily
breached.

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 6. LACK OF PRECISE COMMUNICATION
Psychological contract can change due lack of adequate communication. It is argued that for
a successful organization, managing the psychological contract needs to begin even before
the hiring of employees.. An organizations publications and literature creates the first
impression of the values espoused by the employer.

Promotion of expectations ranges from the tangibles such as pay and benefits, to the
intangibles such as treatment of employees or degree of empowerment which might not be
the absolute provision when an employee is enrolled. When the management is likely to fulfil
some of its unwritten contract with employees, employees are ready and interpreted it from
other dimension from company literature. Lack of adequate communication will result in
rumour mongering and distorted information which might lead to changes in employee
perceptions resulting in employees leaving the company.

7. CHANGES IN CARRER POSITION

Psychological contract can change due changes in career path or position. An increasing
number of people find that the career path they moved into in early life has either disappeared
or the opportunities have far reduced. More significant still are employees who having found
what they believed was their career position / niche that is whether at management,
professional or operator level then suddenly find out that their future becomes totally
insecure. This may be because the jobs or career path they pursued are no longer appropriate
or even exist in the economy. In Zimbabwe many people found themselves in similar
situation as those who had pursued careers as doctor and engineers ended up being teachers
due to lack of jobs in their respective professions. Under such an environment employee –
organisation perceptions, needs and indeed the psychological contract will continue to change
and breached.

8. CHANGES IN PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS

Psychological contract can change due to improvement in one’s professional qualifications.
Those who are well qualified normally seek short tenure and high rewards. Employees and
organisations improve and develop respectively they change their expectations and in turn
their psychological contracts. While in the past employment was a long term contract with an

60
employee acquiring skills on the job and rising through the ranks, today it is dominated by
short term contracts for highly skilled professionals and technical workers.. In Zimbabwe,
most of the students who are employed and studying various degrees will have different
perceptions and indeed their psychological contract once they graduate.

However, psychological contract may not be breached and in some cases it will remain static
for long period.

SATIFICATION ON BOTH EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER

Psychological contract does not change if both the employee and employer are satisfied with
the current situations and have no room or desire to improve their position. A domestic
worker may remain on the same perceptions for a long period or for the duration of the
formal employment contract. Some government institutions in Zimbabwe and even private
companies are contented with the status quo may result in perceptions for both sides
remaining static for a long time.

STATIC LABOUR MARKET

Psychological contract does not change if the labour market remains static. If the labour
market is subjected to various restrictive labour law, and coupled by high rate of
unemployment it will mean that the perceptions most organisations and employees may
remain unchanged for a long period. Most African countries or developing, where level of
education is still low, does have a static labour market, hence perceptions and needs of
organisations and employees remains static.

TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT

Training and development is a big aspect of employer control. Employees depended on their
employers to advance their learning and skills, and thereby their value in the employment
market. In Zimbabwe both government and private do conduct and provide training facilities
for its employees. Once they are trained their perceptions will change.

On another note employees are progressively able to control their own learning and
development through modern technology, and a new attitude of self-sufficiency is emerging.
61
Workers are now training and educating themselves by enrolling in colleges and universities.
This will obviously influence and change their perceptions and indeed their psychological
contract. In Zimbabwe, most government and private company employees are improving
themselves academically and falls in this category.

WHEN THERE IS TRUST AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING

Psychological contract does not change when there is trust and commitment from both sides.
When the psychological contract is relatively straightforward and stable, as in Meikles (Pvt)
(Ltd) organisations, there is trust and commitment from the employees and organisation.
Most government institutions in Zimbabwe fail in this category, especially the army and
police.

CONCLUSION

Demands of the external factors and modern economic environment have resulted in both the
company and the employee having a changed psychological contact. However, psychological
contract does not change if organisation and employees does not change, even in the face of
internal and external factors

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QUESTION 1:

Critically evaluate the idea of extending employees involvement within organisations in

Zimbabwe.

INTRODUCTION

There is an increasing demand for committed employees who need little or no supervision to
carry out their jobs efficiently for the good of the organization. It has also been argued that
strategic group membership and associated collective behaviours are the primary sources of
durable differences in firm profitability and organization effectiveness (Caves and Porter,
2010; Porter, 2000). Organizational cultures characterized as “highly involved” tend to
strongly encourage employee participation and create a sense of ownership and
responsibility. Consequently, out of this sense of ownership grows a greater commitment to
the organization and an increased capacity for autonomy. Denison (2008) stated that
receiving input from organization members increases the quality of the decisions and
improves their implementation. Involvement entails building human capacity, ownership and
responsibility. It is very necessary as it leads to united vision, values and purpose. Employees
reduce cost through recommendations to senior executives (Rossler and Koelling, 2005;
Gowen, 2008; Lesieur, 2012). Based on the foregoing, employee involvement means
employee participation in decision making and implementation in the organizations. It is
measured by how well employees have sense of ownership and responsibility towards the
organization. It reflects on the level of employee commitment.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
INVOLVEMENT
Involvement refers to the level of participation by members in an organization’s decision-
making process. It also refers to the sense of responsibility and commitment thereby
engendered (Denison, 2007). Involvement entails building human capacity, ownership and
responsibility. It is very necessary as it leads to united vision, values and purpose. Employee
involvement is also called participative management and it refers to the degree to which
employees share information, knowledge, rewards and power throughout the organization
(Randolph, 2000; Vroom and Jago, 1988). McShane and Von Glinow (2003) argue that when
there is involvement, employees have some level of authority in making decisions that were
not previously within their mandate.

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EMPOLOYEE INVOLVEMENT
Employee involvement is the extent of employee participation in decision making and
implementation in the banks studied. It refers to the employees’ level of sense of ownership
and responsibility to the organizations they work in. It includes the level of empowerment,
team orientation and capacity building found in the organizations. Employee involvement
refers to the degree to which employees share information, knowledge, rewards and power
throughout the organization (Randolph, 2000; Vroom and Jago, 1988). Organizations where
employees share information, rewards and power tend to increase in profits than those that do
not (Denison and Mishra, 2005).

EFFECTIVENESS
Effectiveness is a broad concept and is difficult to measure in organizations (Daft,
1998). It takes into consideration a range of variables at both the organizational and
departmental levels. It evaluates the extent to which the multiple goals of the organization are
attained. Organizations are large, diverse and fragmented and tend to perform many activities
simultaneously with various outcomes (Weick and Daft, 2002). It is difficult for many
managers to evaluate performance that are not precise or easy for quantitative measurement
(Blenkhorn and Gaber, 2005). However, performance measurement that is tied to strategy
execution can help organizations reach their goals (Rose, 2001).

IT ENHANCES THE CORPORATE CULTURE OF AN ORGANISATION

Involvement has been identified as an important dimension of corporate culture that
influences its effectiveness (Denison, 1990; Denison and Mishra, 2005). Over the past
decade, a great deal has been written about employee involvement and the important role it
plays in successful performance of organizations (Likert, 2002; Kanugo, 1999; Stewart, 2003;
Denison, 2003; Shipper and Manz, 1992; Bowen and Lawler, 1995; McCafferey et al., 1995;
Denison and Mishra, 1995; Daft, 1998; McShane and Von Glinow, 2003; Amah, 2006).
Despite this growth of scholarly publications on employee involvement and organizational
effectiveness, little empirical evidence exists in developing countries.

IT HELPS TO REDUCE WASTAGE OF RESOURCES AND PRODUCTIVE TIME

Employee involvement tends to minimize costs in the organizations receiving input from
organization members’ increase the quality of the decisions and their implementation
(Denison, 2007). When employees are involved they tend to develop and implement better
64
ways of achieving organizational goals. They suggest better ways of doing the job. Employee
involvement extends beyond controlling resources for one’s own job; it includes the power to
influence decisions in the work unit and organization.

The above mentioned scholars stated that employee involvement extends beyond controlling
resources for one’s own job; it includes the power to influence decisions in the work unit and
organization. The higher the level of involvement, the more power people tend to have over
the decision, process and outcomes. Along with sharing power, employee involvement
requires sharing information and knowledge, because employees require more knowledge to
make a meaningful contribution to the decision process (McShane and Von Glinow, 2003).
Employee participation has become an important part of corporate decision making because it
is an integral component of knowledge management (McShane and Von Glinow, 2003). This
implies that corporate leaders are realizing that employee knowledge is a critical resource for
competitive advantage and as such, they are encouraging employees to share this knowledge.

However, this is a time consuming process as management and employees sit down to decide
on the best processes to be implemented for efficient production and consistence within the
organization. There is continuous re-visiting to the drawing board as procedures are re-
adapted into the system hence wastage of both resources and productive time.

INCREASES PROFITABILITY OF THE ORGANISATION

It is argued that employee involvement is significantly related to profitability in the
organizations. In other words there is significant positive relationship between involvement
and profitability in the organisations. This implies that increase in employee involvement is
associated with increase in profitability in organizations. This finding supports an earlier
report by Denison and Mishra (2005) that involvement is significantly co-related with return
on assets.
Involvement entails building human capacity, ownership and responsibility (Denison,
2007). Out of this ownership grows a greater commitment to an organization and a lesser
need for an overt control system. Voluntary and implicit normative systems ensure the
coordination of behavior, rather than explicit bureaucratic control systems (Denison, 2007).
Employee involvement in organizations is necessary and leads to united vision, values and
purpose. Employees working with a united vision, values and purpose tend to be more
effective.
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However employees tend to copy procedures and ideas that are successful for other
companies and they anticipate their success when adopted into their own firm. Systems and
procedures that work for another company many not necessarily work for other organizations
maybe due to the differences in the line or scope of business, for example, Air Zimbabwe,
Civil Aviation Authority of Zimbabwe and National Handling Services of Zimbabwe are all
in the aviation but they cannot adopt the same managerial skills because their scope of
business is totally different.

IMPROVES COMPETITVENESS OF AN ORGANISATION

Unused human knowledge and skill within an organization is a clear competitive
disadvantage. Organisations need to capture as much involvement as possible from
organizational members and use it to improve both the organizational processes and the
individuals themselves. Effective organizations require a high level of involvement and these
strategies should be a part of the methods used by a manager to shape the culture. Then they
involve their employees to create a unique organization that becomes the basis of sustainable
competitive advantage. Research states that employee involvement is positively related to
productivity as supported by Kelleher of southwest who stated that the strength of southwest
comes not from products or services but from a unique culture and management philosophy
that emphasizes employee involvement (McShane and Von Glinow, 2003).

Corporate leaders are realizing that employee knowledge is a critical resource for competitive
advantage and as such are encouraging employees to share this knowledge. Employees
reduce cost through recommendations to senior executives (Rossler and Koelling, 2003;
Gowen, 2000; Lesieur, 2008). This of course leads to profitability. Thus employee
involvement can lead to profitability.

However, only employees with the relevant skills can make recommendations that can reduce
cost. In organisations there is the additional problem of having the required number of people
with managerial and other relevant skills (Nwachukwu, 2002). This makes the continuous
training of employees in organizations a necessity.

ENHANCES QUALITY DECESION MAKING

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There are several reasons why employee involvement is related to profitability. Receiving
input from organization members tend to increase the quality of decision and improve their
implementation (Denison, 2007). Profitability goals set by some organizations are easily
achieved when employees are involved in decision making. Involvement empowers, and
empowerment increases motivation. Superior performance capabilities are created by
employee empowerment. Organizations in which employees are involved in decision making
tend to achieve their goals better than those that do not involve employees in decision
making. Literature implies that there is a positive relationship between employee involvement
and organizational productivity.

CONCLUSION
Employee involvement and organizational effectiveness in industries reveal that first,
employee involvement is an important tool a manager needs to obtain commitment from
employees as it creates a sense of ownership and responsibility towards the organization.
Second, involved and committed employees work hard to ensure the achievement of
organizational goals (i.e. increased profitability, productivity and market share). Third, the
positive association between employee involvement and profitability as established by some
scholars is applicable to work organizations the world over including African-based
organizations like the ones that make up our study population. Fourth, the results also reveal
that employee involvement impacts on organizational productivity and market share as
employees are more committed to a decision or course when they are involved in the
decision-making process. Fifth, the employee involvement positively impacts such work
behaviours as job satisfaction and organizational commitment. The more employees are
involved the more they gain pleasure working in such an organization and the more they are
willing to stay with the organization. Organizations with committed employees ease the work
of the manager, as they do their jobs with little or no supervision knowing the effect of their
jobs in the achievement of the organization’s goals. Employees tend to be more productive
when they are trained and involved in decision making.

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QUESTION:

Discus the significant of performance management as a human resource function within

organizations. Support your answer with relevant examples.

INTRODUCTION

Performance management is a key measure in human resource function for every business as
it helps them to draw the best out of their employees by enabling individual employees to
perform at optimal levels. For every organization to operate effectively it needs to address
several issues of performance management so as to achieve its goals in their industry. This
process may then encompass goal setting, worker selection and placement performance
appraisal training and development all that employee performance for example ZESA
employees.

Definitions

Performance management

According to Gary Dessler (2004) defines it as managing all elements of the organizational
process that affect how well employees perform.

According to Armstrong and Baron (2004), Performance management is a process which

contributes to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high
levels of organizational performance. They also defined performance management as a
strategic and integrated approach to delivering sustained success to organizations by
improving the performance of people who work in them and by developing the capabilities of
teams and individual contributors.

Performance management allows one to tap the full potential of one’s staff. In short it can be
described as a comprehensive process starting from monitoring and developing the desired
traits to rating their progress and rewarding them for their achievement.

Performance management has its significant as a human resource function within the
organization they play key roles in creating a knowledge sharing context, it also improves
productivity in organizations hence it is important as explained below.

Feedback

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In any business performance management is very important as supervisors gives back
feedback to the employees, individuals to know how he or she is performing.it also motivates
workers hence production increases. According to Anne-Wil (2011) organizations need to
create culture where feedback is easily accepted by workers hence managers should deliver
sufficient feedback such that human resources department may plan forward

Goal setting

The management may set goals of their company by evaluating the performance of the
employees in the last year. Mostly these goals helps the employees to understand what is
expected out of them hence the supervisor may help them in planning and prioritizing their
work accordingly. In business it is believed that a well-documented goals to individuals
produce better productivity than those without goals.

Monitoring the process of your employees

Just as revision of business plan is sometimes necessary for the success of your business,
measuring the performance of every employee is also important. This ensure that tasks are
efficiently completed on time and on or under budget. It also points out to you any
shortcomings of either your staff or business plans, and helps you to take the appropriate
corrective action.

To align and integrate goals

It is also important to align and integrate the goals or objectives and key performance
indicators of the organization vertically and horizontally through all job categories and levels,
including management. In this way the entire system works together in pointing towards the
critical bottom line measures, with bottom line results generally following as a matter of
course. To ensure clarity regarding work expectations’ and standards, reducing job holder
anxiety or stress, resource waste and conflict. To reduce line manager reluctance and fear to
do performance appraisals with their staff.

Rewards for good performance

Performance management ensures that employees are rewarded according to their inputs
which they provide into the organization. Good performing employees are given incentives
for example at Tel-one Store employees are given thank you packages as appreciation for the
good work done.

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Quality and efficiency

Several organizations believe that when employees get their rewards, incentives, recognition
and other several acknowledgements out of their work done it motivates hence boosting
higher production. Moreover it encourages employees to work extra hard which results in the
production of good quality products and efficient use of resources.

Accountability and accuracy

Performance management ensures that employees are accountable to any work done and also
to ensure that accuracy is achieved when doing their business. Also it encourages effective
production from the employees as they know that they are accountable for any defects, poor
quality products which may result in less sales.

However performance management has also negative impacts on human resource function as
it increases high labour turnover, low motivation, conflicts, poor production and poor
decisions in any organization.

Low motivation

As supervisors’ lacks feedback and good communication with the employees it creates gaps,
absenteeism and low morale within the work place. Hence it may lead to workers moving out
of organizations. Motivation is a key factor to every employee to operate at fully capacity.

Conflicts

Conflicts is inevitable in any organization hence it needs to be controlled. It can lead to low
production if this performance management is not practiced in a good way. The reward
system should be done fairly to reduce this conflict for example at Chivhu spar workers move
out to search jobs in other companies due to reward system.

High labor turnover

Performance management can increase the number of workers redundancy as they found that
the systems of the company is not favorable. For example the NRZ workers pull out as the
salaries, rewards were not being given hence the performance management becomes less
important as a human resource function.

Lack of respect and poor communication

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Moreover other workers may tend not to listen to their supervisors or managers if
accountability is being delegated to them hence there no good communication between
individuals in organization. This might increases the chances of business failure or less
productive. Also due to rewards system others may feel not being recognized at work place
for example Chivhu spar and leads to the down fall of the company eventually closure as
workers will not perform to their best levels.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion performance management is a key factor in the monitoring of employees within

the workplace in order to have better performance. This function enhances greater
performance through rewarding the employees which then promotes higher productivity. By
looking at the current performance with the standard performance the organization can
reward its workers to achieve its goals.

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QUESTION 18:

The perception and dynamism of the psychological contracts makes it easy to break the
contract. Discuss the above statement from organisations of your choice.

Introduction

The psychological contract refers to the expectations, many of which are unspoken, between
an employee and the organisation which employs them. Nick Wilton, (2011) defines
psychological contract is any unwritten contract between employers and employees which
covers a series of mutual expectations and satisfaction of needs arising from the people-
organisation relationship. Employee expectations may include obvious things such as pay, as
well as softer issues such as personal support or development. Organisation expectations may
refer to working hard or results, as well as more subtle expectations such as loyalty or
enhancing the reputation of the organisation. The demands made by the enterprise / employer
on the worker may include the following:

 A fair day’s work.

 Making efforts to achieve organisational objectives.
 Dedication.
 Loyalty.
 Commitment.
 Employability

The other hand the worker / employee may expect some of the following issues from the
employer:

 Fair day’s pay.

 Justice.
 Equal opportunities for advancement.
 Job security
 Future career

Perceptions and Dynamism Of Psychological Contract

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Psychological Contract is a complex concept and dynamic meaning that it is not fixed or
static and it contains beliefs and feelings which can fluctuate. The complexities and
dynamics of psychological contract is clear given that it is essentially driven by people's
feelings. Therefore it cannot be measured or defined in fixed terms like a salary or a
timesheet. As a concept, the Psychological Contract will continue to evolve and change, in
both its effects and its definitions. The Psychological Contract combines the effects of at least
two highly complicated systems, i.e. an individual person's thoughts, and an organization's
behaviour towards that person. The perceived breach in the psychological contract often
results in the employee deliberately reducing their effort towards work and customers.
Conversely it is also true that employees whose psychological contract is satisfied have a
high level of commitment and organizational support. Below are some of the factors that
cause psychological contracts to change and violated.

Psychological Contract Changes Over Time

One of the fundamental issues raised by many researchers is that the psychological contract
inevitably changes over time. Psychological contract changes over time as the organizations’
needs and the employees’ needs change. What the employee is looking for in a job at an early
stage of employment may be completely different from what the same employee is looking
for after many years on the same organisation.

Expectations of employees gradually change as they progress through their life. At a very
simple level, employees’ needs from employment could be viewed as falling into three stages
namely, the early work life, the development stage and the maturity stage. In the early stages
many people try out, experiment and explore alternative job and career options as they seek
and identify job and career option and paths which are most appealing and personally
fulfilling. In the development stage individual identifies a positive path from a work content,
lifestyle and reward perspective. In the maturity stage individual typically seeks stability so
that they can provide for their increased and continuing family responsibilities. Therefore the
perceptions, needs and indeed the psychological contract will change as an individual moves
from one to the other. Similarly what the organisation expects of a person during a period of
rapid growth may be completely different from what that same organisation expects when it
has levelled off or is experiencing economic decline.

Maslow's hierarchical of needs model demonstrated that human needs and perceptions
changes as one develop or grows within the organisation and satisfy each need. According to

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Maslow the highest need for humans is self-actualisation. Today employees are becoming
increasingly aware of the none-monetary rewards that companies are willing to provide in
exchange for their skills. This suggests that employees are now at a point in time where they
are able to seek out self-actualisation.

Psychological Contract is Just a Perception and Unwritten.

The mere fact psychological contract is just perceptions and beliefs of both the employee and
employer with no firm foundation makes it vulnerable to change. The psychological contract
is composed of an individual's perceptions about what they expect the organization to
provide, that is competitive wages, advancement opportunities, job security, in return for
what they provide the organization (a fair day's work, loyalty). Unlike formal employee-
employer contracts, the psychological contract is inherently perceptual and therefore
employer and employee may have different interpretations of the implied obligations. The
mere fact that psychological contract consist of perceptions and assumptions for employees
and employer makes it vulnerable and influenced by various factors such as workmates, trade
unions, media and social networking, among others.

Psychological Contract Changes Due to External Factors

External forces such as political, economic, social, technological developments and legal can
also influence employees and employers expectations to change, thus making the
psychological contract a dynamic one which must be constantly renegotiated. Far-reaching
changes in society, as well as the global economy, are creating dramatic changes in the
psychological contracts in many business organisations. It is important to at each of these
external factors as see how they influence psychological contract to change.

Political Environment

Psychological contract can change due to political environment in which the company is
operating. Issues of politics such as violate political disturbances, political statements and
political policies can affect company performance / profitability either in the negative or

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positive direction, thus causing both the organisation and employees to change their
perceptions. Many companies in Zimbabwe were affected in 1980 immediately after
independence as most employers (who whites) were not certain about their future in an
independent Zimbabwe. Many companies also affected during election campaigns as many
political parties come up with different economic election manifestos. Political environment
has a net effect of influencing company viability and directions thus causing a change in
employee-employer perceptions. The change in perceptions will create a new psychological
contract thus violating of breaching the original perceptions / beliefs for both sides.

Economic Environment

Psychological contract can change due economic environment which may be caused by
market competition and economic activities. Demands of the modern economic environment
have resulted in both the company and the employee having a changed psychological contact.

It has been observed that there is an increasingly dramatic changes in psychological contracts
brought about by the ever-faster and vigorous economic forces. The overall performance of
economy of any country will affect the profitability and viability of companies. When the
economic environment is stable and conducive for development companies tend to do better
and have high chances of meeting or surpassing employee perceptions, and vice versa. The
fluctuation in company performance as result of economic environment will result in the
breach and change in the psychological contract. During the 1990s, due hyperinflationary
economic environment in Zimbabwe, many companies struggle for survival and ended up
breaching and changing the employee-organisations’ psychological contract.

Social Environment

Psychological contract can change due social and demographic environment. Today workers
are increasingly becoming more mobile, flexible and adaptable and can no longer stay
dutifully working for the same employer for as long as the employer needs them. Good
workers can easily find alternative employment than twenty years ago. They are not limited
to working in their local towns, or regions, or not even in the same country. In fact with
modern technology geographical location for many workers is now irrelevant, and will

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continue to be so in future. Therefore employee perceptions are frequently changing as one
move from company to the other or as the employee do not stay with one employer. Many
Zimbabwean are now working in the diaspora or in neighbouring countries.

Also psychological contract is changing due to the connectivity of workers in today’s world.
In past times, trade unions were the vehicle for people-power. Instead toady there is an
increase in the use of the internet and modern social networking which results in improved
communication and availability of more information. Today many Zimbabweans are
changing job by making application for new job in greener pastures through the internet.
Therefore employee – organisational perceptions are no longer static, but are now being
frequently being violated, breached and changing as employees and organisations do not have
permanent or long term relationship.

Globalisation and Technological Changes

Psychological contract can change due globalization and technology environment. Modern
technology, which the younger generations understand and exploit infinitely better than older
people, is liberating most of the younger employees. Historically workers relied on employers
for access to technology but currently employers are now progressively depending on
employees for its optimisation. Globalization and technology have shifted everything about
organized work onto an entirely different level in terms of complexity, rate of change,
connectivity and the mobility of people and activities. There are also significant changes
under way specifically involving attitudes to traditional corporations, markets and
governance. The significance and complexity of psychological contract have grown in
response to all of these changes and given that the world of work will continue to change in
very big ways, so the significance and complexity of the contract will grow even more. In
Zimbabwe Delta Company has introduced the latest technology in it new refurbished bottling
plants in Harare and Bulawayo. This will obviously influence the psychological contrast with
its workers.

Legal Issues

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Psychological contract can change due the country’s legal issues. Laws enacted by the
government in terms of industry and commence can equally affect the economic performance
and viability of companies. Such laws may increase in duty or emption of duty and other
tariffs. In Zimbabwe the Indigenisation Policy that is the 51-49 % share structure in favour of
previously disadvantageous Zimbabwean is reported to have caused some companies to cease
operations and relocate to neighbouring countries. Jay jay Pvt Ltd is reported to be operating
in Mozambique after scaling down its operations in Zimbabwe. Other legal issues include the
Labour Act and the Supreme Court ruling of 17 July 2015 regarding 3 months notices. The
mere fact that employees had no job security meant that their perceptions or psychological
contract with organisations / employer had to change.

Lack of Communication

Psychological contract can change due lack of communication. It is argued that for a
successful organization, managing the psychological contract needs to begin even before the
hiring of employees. It is believed through organizations publications, the interview process,
contract negotiation and the orientation process all contribute towards the formation of the
employee's psychological contract with the organization. An organizations publications and
literature creates the first impression of the values espoused by the employer. The interview
process then establishes an image of the organization for potential employees Promotion of
expectations ranges from the tangibles such as pay and benefits, to the intangibles such as
treatment of employees or degree of empowerment. It is therefore critical to continue to
communicate with employees on company performance, and when the organisation is likely
to fulfil some of its unwritten contract with employees is ready and interpreted from company
literature. Lack of communication will result in rumour mongering and distorted information
which might lead to changes in employee perceptions resulting in employees leaving the
company.

Changing Labour Market

Psychological contract can change due changes on the labour market. As alluded to earlier,
social connectivity and technological empowerment pose a real threat to old-style corporate
models. Younger generations have seen the free market model and traditional capitalism fail.

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Certain industries no longer need a massive hierarchical corporation to connect supply and
demand. Changes in the labour markets in being influenced by dramatic changes in the global
economy, the development of low-cost and high-quality manufacturing and accompanied by
ever-faster changes in technology, liberalisation of markets and the changing consumer
expectations. As organisations are pushed to innovate, increase market and customer
responsiveness and reduce costs, they are being forced to bring about equally dramatic
changes in work practices and in turn an employee behaviour change becomes a reality. In
Zimbabwe, the Supreme Court ruling of 17 July 2015 and the Labour Amendment Act No 5
of 2015 have change the labour market in terms of employee-organisation perceptions or
psychological contract.

Changes in Career Position

Psychological contract can change due changes in career path or position. An increasing
number of people find that the career path they moved into in early life has either disappeared
or the opportunities have far reduced. More significant still are employees who having found
what they believed was their career position / niche that is whether at management,
professional or operator level then suddenly find out that their future becomes totally
insecure. This may be because the jobs or career path they pursued are no longer appropriate
or even exist in the economy. In Zimbabwe many people found themselves in similar
situation as those who had pursued careers as doctor and engineers ended up being teachers
due to lack of jobs in their respective professions. Under such an environment employee –
organisation perceptions, needs and indeed the psychological contract will continue to change
and breached.

Changes in Professional Qualifications

Psychological contract can change due to improvement in one’s professional qualifications.

Those who are well qualified normally seek short tenure and high rewards. Employees and
organisations improve and develop respectively they change their expectations and in turn
their psychological contracts. While in the past employment was a long term contract with an
employee acquiring skills on the job and rising through the ranks, today it is dominated by
short term contracts for highly skilled professionals and technical workers.. In Zimbabwe,

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most of the students who are employed and studying various degrees will have different
perceptions and indeed their psychological contract once they graduate.

Management Style

Psychological contract can change due management style. The prevailing psychological
contracts in organisations have shifted from the emerging, through bureaucratic towards one
characterised by adhocracy. This involves both the individual and the organisation being
adult, and where employees define their worth and identity through accomplishment. The
way employee are treated and led will negatively or positively influence their perceptions. An
autocratic style may frustrate employees while a democratic approach may be very
accommodative and motivating to employee. Perceptions changes depending on the
management style and this is true in institutions such as police or the army where the type of
leadership very hash.

Business Pressure

Wick Wilton (2011) states that changes to the psychological contracts of hurricane
proportions are arising as a result of business pressures. The far-reaching changes in business
are bringing about major shifts in both organisations and the psychological contracts that
exist in them. The same writers believe that the psychological contract has evolved over three
distinct stages namely the emerging phase, the bureaucratic phase and the adhocracy phase.
In simple terms, organisations pass through such stages as they develop and grow. At the
emerging stage. The company and its products are still at the introductory stage pressure may
be minimal. Hence the expectations in terms of the psychological contract for both the
employer and employee may be low or few. Pressure of work increases as one move from
stage to other until it reaches its peak at maturity stage. As pressure increase employee
perception will change as they expect more benefits and improvement in their conditions of
services.

De Meuse, Bergmann et al (2001) states that the workplace today is one of increased
workload and stress and decreased job security and commitment. With the lack of job
security employees now focus on immediate job needs and career management through

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performing meaningful work, personal growth, development of transferable skills, and
networking opportunities. This change in the employment environment has changed the
nature of the psychological contract.

Work Needs

The nature, extent and complexity of the psychological contract are determined by the nature,
extent and complexity of people's needs at work. Work needs are increasingly impacted by
factors outside of work as well as those we naturally imagine arising inside work. People's
lives today are richer, more varied, and far better informed and connected than ever. People
are aware of more, they have more, and want more from life and this outlook naturally
expands their view of how work can help them achieve greater fulfilment. The working world
today is very different from a generation ago. The employer/employee relationship reflected
in the Psychological Contract has progressively grown and changed in complexity, especially
since workers have become more mobile and enabled by modern technology, and markets
globalized.

Training and Development

Training and development is a big aspect of employer control. Employees depended on their
employers to advance their learning and skills, and thereby their value in the employment
market. In Zimbabwe both government and private do conduct and provide training facilities
for its employees. Once they are trained their perceptions will change.

On another note employees are progressively able to control their own learning and
development through modern technology, and a new attitude of self-sufficiency is emerging.
Workers are now training and educating themselves by enrolling in colleges and universities.
This will obviously influence and change their perceptions and indeed their psychological
contract. In Zimbabwe, most government and private company employees are improving
themselves academically and falls in this category.

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Psychological Contract Does Not Change

However, psychological contract does not change and in some cases it will remain static for
long period. Below are some the factors or situations where the psychological contract does
not change.

Satisfaction on both Employee and Employer

Psychological contract does not change if both the employee and employer are satisfied with
the current situations and have no room or desire to improve their position. A domestic
worker may remain on the same perceptions for a long period or for the duration of the
formal employment contract. Some government institutions in Zimbabwe and even private
companies are contented with the status quo may result in perceptions for both sides
remaining static for a long time.

Static Labour Market

Psychological contract does not change if the labour market remains static. If the labour
market is subjected to various restrictive labour law, and coupled by high rate of
unemployment it will mean that the perceptions most organisations and employees may
remain unchanged for a long period. Most African countries or developing, where level of
education is still low, does have a static labour market, hence perceptions and needs of
organisations and employees remains static.

Static Organisations

Psychological contract does not change when the organisations remain static in terms of
development and exposure to the forces of globalisations or technological development. Most
government institutions rarely changes or react to internal and external environmental factors.
Examples of such in organisations in Zimbabwe may include the police, army and most
government departments. Therefore perceptions or needs for most government employee and
government organisations will remain fixed and will not change for long period of time.

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When there is Trust and Mutual Understanding

Psychological contract does not change when there is trust and commitment from both sides.
When the psychological contract is relatively straightforward and stable, as in bureaucratic
organisations, there is trust and commitment from the employees and organisation. Most
government institutions in Zimbabwe fail in this category, especially the army and police.

CONCLUSION

Psychological contract is any unwritten contract between employers and employees which
covers a series of mutual expectations and satisfaction of needs arising from the people-
organisation relationship. Many organisations articulate their psychological contracts
indirectly through their websites, recruitment literature and so on which describe what they
expect from an employee, and what the employee can expect from them. Demands of the
external factors and modern economic environment have resulted in both the company and
the employee having a changed psychological contact. However, psychological contract does
not change if organisation and employees does not change, even in the face of internal and
external factors

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QUESTION:

Union Membership in Zimbabwe Increased Continuously Throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Some thought that this signalled the emergence of the strong labour movement yet recently
union membership seems to decline. Explain why this may be and what the future may hold
for union membership in Zimbabwe

INTRODUCTION

This write up analyses the formation of the major trade unions, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions and Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions, the reasons for the fluctuations in union
membership during the period 1980 to 1990 which were attributed by the hostile economic
environment, polarisation and conflicting labour laws. An outline of the objectives employees
are expected to satisfy through unionism like greater bargaining power, making their voice
heard, social and cultural factors, improved and improved conditions of service. Also factors
affecting the future of trade union membership will be given like professionalism,
individualism, cultural factors, fear of reprisal and identification with management.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Trade Union - According to the Labour Act [Chapter 28:01], A trade

union means an association or organisation formed to
represent or advance the interests of any employee or
class thereof in respect of the employment.

Marriage - combination or amalgamation

Euphoria of independence - celebration of independence

Briefcase unions - unregistered unions

Tripartism - three- way (Government, Employer, Employee)

Land mark - commencement/starting

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The Labour Relations Act [Chapter 28:01] (4), states that “employees have the right to take
part in registration to a trade union”. According to Freeman and Medoff (1984), the
fundamental purpose of trade unions is to promote and protect the interests of their members.
They are there to redress the balance of power between employers and employees. Trade
unions, as indicated by Freeman provide workers with a “collective voice” to make their
wishes known to management.

The principle purpose of labour union is to negotiate wages and working conditions and
regulate relations between workers and the employer through the Workers Committee. They
also have to take collective action to enforce terms of collective bargaining, raise new
demands on behalf of its members and help settle their grievances. A trade union may be a
company union that represents the interest of only one company and maybe affiliated to a
mother union or not.

According to Sachikonye (1996), at the dawn of independence, the labour movement in

Zimbabwe was weak and divided. In the final stages of the war of liberation, the labour
movement had been systematically subordinated to the nationalist agenda, a position which
was confirmed by its suspicious absence in the transition talks to majority rule at the
Lancester House Conference in 1979. The fragmentation of the labour movement in both
thought and action was expressed through ‘wild cat’ strikes between 1980 and 1987. The
government in a bid to establish a strong regulatory framework for labour relations played a
proactive role in the formation of the ZCTU.

The ZCTU was formed on February 28, 1981 through the merger of six trade union centres:
African Trade Union Congress (ATUC), the National African Trade Union Congress
(NATUC), the Trade Union Congress of Zimbabwe (TUCZ), the United Trade Unions of
Zimbabwe (UTUZ), the Zimbabwe Federation of Labour (ZFL) and the Zimbabwe Trade
Union Congress (ZTUC). The ZCTU was established by the ruling party, ZANU-PF, with the
aim of reducing industrial disputation, and improving the influence of the government over
the union movement (ZCTU Constitution).

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Trade union membership increased rapidly following the establishment of majority-rule
government in 1980, and reached approximately 200,000 in 1985. The number of strikes and
industrial disputes also increased dramatically, against the wishes of the new government. It
was to combat this trend that the government established the ZCTU, as well as promising the
introduction of a minimum wage and limited industrial democracy.

According to Saunders (2001), the labour movement’s marriage with capital, poor
administration, corruption and other irregularities undermined its functions and credibility.
The tale in the immediate post-independence period is that of an ineffective union,
honeymooning with capital, crippled by the rhetoric of development and a political position,
which condemned strikes and labour action as counter-revolutionary. Labour militancy was
construed as a threat to nationalism and the gains of the nationalist struggle, much to the
detriment of workers. The government expected trade unions to operate within the parameters
of its socialist objectives.

At the 1985 Congress, the ZCTU president bemoaned how the role of the union, as a
mediator for workers, had been hijacked by the government. The ushering in of a new
leadership in the labour centre in 1985 marked a turning point in the history of the ZCTU.
The labour movement became more radical, criticized the one party state and developed
alliances with other civic groups and the student movement. By 1990, the labour movement
had moved from being a ‘wing of the ruling party to a more autonomous critical force’
broadening issues beyond economic dictates to governance. The labour movement demanded
liberalization of the industrial relations sphere, particularly free collective bargaining and the
right to strike.

As the euphoria of independence declined, coupled with pressure from new global neo-liberal
domination after the collapse of Soviet socialism, the country started to experience some
economic problems, which culminated in the adoption of the Economic Structural
Adjustment Programme (ESAP) in the early 1990s. ESAP was essentially anti-labour. Its
effects included inflation, de-industrialization, company closures and a substantive decline in
real wages and overall standards of living. The labour union had no option but to be militant.

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The militancy reached its zenith in 1997, which was dubbed ‘the land mark year’ for
industrial action in Zimbabwe. Thus 1998 was characterized by mass stay-aways and
increased articulation of the linkage between the workers’ problems and governance issues.
This critical posture resulted in the National Working Peoples Convention in February, which
culminated in the formation of the MDC in 1999.The formation of the MDC marked a new
era in industrial relations with the government accusing the ZCTU of double standards and
pursuing a political agenda.

Raflopolous (2001) advocates that the formation of the Zimbabwe Federation of Trade
Unions (ZFTU) in 1998 raised eyebrows amid wide speculation that it was launched to
counter the effectiveness of ZCTU. Madhuku L (2002) concurred that the period understudy
was also characterised by severe economic hardships which played havoc among workers,
liquidation of companies and retrenchments in the biting era of the Economic Structural
Adjustment Programme (ESAP) and later the Zimbabwe programme for Economic and
Social Transformation (ZIMPREST) constituted some of the unpopular features of the
economic situation. Workers fell into the predicament of continued and sustained erosion of
their standard of living.

The objectives that employees expected to satisfy through union membership were:-

(i) Greater bargaining power - Employees found that although they have limited
bargaining power as individuals, they can frequently equal that of the employer by
organising a union and taking concerted action ~ collective job action.

(ii) Make their voices heard - Most employees wish to be more than moving parts in a
large machine. They want management to listen to their feelings, complaints and
ideas.

(iii) Social factors - Group acceptance and a feeling of belonging often derive from union
membership. Sometimes social motivation takes the form of group pressure.

(iv) Cultural factors - Also play a part in the people to join a union, particularly where
traditional for generations of families or communities to belong to a union.

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(v) Improved terms and conditions of service - Trade unions not only seek to improve
members' wages, but also the conditions under which such wages are earned.

(vi) Compulsion via the union contract - Some agreements negotiated between
employers and unions contain 'a closed shop' provision (or some variation of it) that
requires all employees to join the union and pay its dues.

(vii) Minimise favouritism and discrimination - Unions press for equality of treatment in
personal actions for example promotions, lay-offs, wage rates, transfers etc.

It also emerged that some workers, for fear of political victimisation opted to stay out of
unions. Joining unions affiliated to the ZCTU was tantamount to joining the opposition
party. While the increase of trade unions encourages competition in representing workers for
their general welfare, it should be noted that a deliberately sponsored multiplicity causes
hostility and weakens the labour movement. What is interesting is the fact that most of the 13
inaugural affiliates of the ZFTU were registered soon after the union itself had just been
registered, suggesting a top down approach. These trade unions had a ghost membership and
as such were merely briefcase unions.

The Commercial Workers Union of Zimbabwe (CWUZ), an affiliate of the ZCTU lost its
members in the security sector to a ZFTU affiliate. As the ZFTU tried to intensify its
membership drive, dissatisfied workers resigned from the ZCTU, accusing it and the National
Employment Councils of conniving with employers to exploit them. Other unions defected
soon after the June 2000 parliamentary elections on realizing that some ZCTU leaders had
landed themselves parliamentary seats at their peril. For the above reasons, the employees felt
that they were being used by some trade union members to gain their political mileage. It
increased mistrust and suspicion between the two actors with detrimental effects on
tripartism, thereby negatively affecting the workers of the land. As the economy plummeted a
union membership has shrunk dramatically.

The Herald 19 March 2007 cited that many Zimbabwean workers have not had the
opportunity to join a trade union, since they have been employed in industries in which no

87
unions have been formed. As for Casual workers, it should be noted that they do not
normally join unions. Three quarters of Zimbabweans earned their living through informal
sector employment, while the formal sector employed at least one quarter of able bodied men
and women.

Sibanda N (2007) postulated that a booming informal sector against a shrinking formal sector
slashed the membership base of trade unions. Subscriptions from affiliate unions which made
the financial back bone of trade union operations dwindled as affiliating unions defaulted due
to economic hardships. Workers questioned logic in parting with subscriptions in a period
when wages were being continuously eroded. A depleted financial base curtailed outreach
programs, which could have galvanised the recruitment of more membership.

Given this background, one can argue that the future of trade union membership in
Zimbabwe is bleak because of the following factors:-

(i) Cultural Factors - Many people distrust unions and what they believe they stand for,
that is collectivism, socialism, they believe unions obstruct free enterprise, individualism
and initiative. Small business persons and farmers hold such views. Likewise, many
white collar workers, in professional and executive occupations, believe this.

(ii) Professionalism and Individualism - Professional employees in the private sector and
the self-employed, have resisted forming or joining unions. Instead they have sought to
advance their interests through membership of professional associations like Institute of
Personnel Management of Zimbabwe (IPMZ)and Chartered Institute of Secretaries (CIS).
Many professionals argue that they have higher status and higher education and do not
need unions to promote their interests. The tendency has been (universally) that only
lowly-paid professionals, for example nurses and teachers, embrace unionism and
collective bargaining.

(iii)Also many professionals are individualistic in orientation. They feel that their
employers will recognise them for their performance on the job and they can bargain for
themselves.

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(iv) Identification with Management - White collar, technical and professional employees
tend to identify themselves with management. Since they work closely with supervisors
and executives, there is a tendency to acquire management's viewpoint, wishing to
impress favourably their immediate supervisors, they often feel that membership of a
union might hinder their chances of advancement and/or identify them as disloyal to the
corporation or enterprise.

(v) Job Satisfaction - Some employees are fortunate to work for organisations that provide
excellent working conditions, good wages, job satisfaction and job security and
consequently feel no need for unionisation.

(vi) Fear of Reprisal - Some employees do not join unions for fear that management will
punish them if they do so. Although provision is made for freedom to join unions in the
Labour Relations Act 1985, management is able to discriminate in many subtle ways
against union sympathisers.

CONCLUSION

The aspect of unionism has been a good idea but the fact that it has been used as a political
ladder by some trade union leaders resulted in people losing trust and zeal to join unions.
However, while the government is making efforts to stabilise the economy by luring investors
like Mr Dangote from Nigeria and investment promises from Bellarus and China, who knows
the economy might improve and employment guaranteed for the people of Zimbabwe.
Moreover, the government should minimise interference into the affairs of trade unions for
personal interests/gains but only for the sake of tripatism.

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QUESTION:

a. Discuss the implications of the Supreme Court Judgment on termination of

employment on notice of the 17 July 2015 to employees.
b. Comment on the relevance of labor act section 12 which was used to terminate the
employment on notice
c. Evaluate the relevance of the labour amendment no. 5 of 2015

Introduction

The Supreme Court Judgment on termination of employment on notice of the 17 July 2015 to
employees by Chief Justice Chidyausiku and the amendments which were made to some
labour sections, the likes of labour act section 12 and 5 brought about a various effects to
both the employee and the employer and our economy at large. We also need to check
whether the labour sections which were used to terminate the employment on notice were
relevant in practical, because as said by Martin Luther a law can be just but unjust in its
application.

Definition of key terms

Supreme Court: it is the highest court within the hierarchy of many legal jurisdictions as
defined by Heffernam V.City of Paterson. It is also known as the apex court, instance court or
court of last resort.

Employment contract: it is a legal document binding two parties where one party
(employee) works for the other and receive a payment from the other(employer) according to
www.labour.gov.public/wcp.com.

Labour act section 12: it is the part of the labour act document which deals with
termination of employment on notice as defined by Chief Justice Chidyausiku.

Labour amendment No.5: it is a clause which seeks to quickly resolve the current
cumbersome retrenchment procedure which is a long drawn costly process that leaves the
employer and employee at loggerheads according to www.zimlaw.ac.zw.

Termination: it is the process of firing an employee for any reason as defined by the English
dictionary.

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Implications of Supreme Court judgment on termination of employment on notice of
the 17 July 2015 to employees.

Termination on notice

Positive implication

Workers tends to work very hard so as to impress the management and hence reduce the risk
of contract termination. If managers are impressed by the performance of the employee
before the termination of the contract, they may decide to retain that employee.

Negative

Employees tend to be at risk of contract termination due to the the fact that the contract can
be terminated any time and hence all the efforts will be in vein. Knowing that their efforts are
in vein, this in turn tends to affect their performance and motivation adversely therefore
further making them vulnerable to contract termination.

Right to be fairly dismissed

Positive implication

The workers will have job security since they cannot be unfairly dismissed meaning that there
should be a solid reason for any sort of dismissal. According to Chief Justice Chidyausiku
unfair dismissal includes the employment contract termination due to the employer making
continued employment intolerable for the employee.

Negative effects

According to Fadzai Madzingira, Zimbabwean currently reading the Masters of Public Policy
at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, stated that the dismissal is unfair in the sense
that it was not stated on the employment or model code thus providing a high rate of
uncertainty towards the job security of an employee. Also it may result in an increase in the
amount of mistakes and errors due to the fact that workers will not be settled as they will be
fearing that any mistake will make them lose their jobs. This is due to the fact that the
employees are no longer being given a chance for disciplinary hearing as stated by an
anonymous lawyer in Newsdze Zimbabwe 17 July 2015.

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Reward for theft

Positive

Since dismissal is due to a solid reason employees tend to be careful in their operation and
this promotes the reduction of theft. For example the case of Cuthbert Dube who was fired as
ZIFA president as a result of theft. Theft is also reduced in the sense that employees will be
fearing tarnishing their image to the extent that they will not be accepted for any other job
application due to the reputation of theft.

Disciplinary council

The employees are now vulnerable to termination of contracts without being heard on their
issues arising to their dismissal since the new ruling has promoted a reduction in the use of
the disciplinary council since employees are no longer given second chance if they make any
mistake or error (chronicle 17 July 2015).

Trade unions

This has weakened the power of the trade Union leading to the vulnerability of the
employees. The trade unions cannot go against the labour act section 12b which states that
employment contracts can be terminated on notice hence therefore this leaves the trade
unions powerless and employee prone to manipulation by the employers.

Salary cuts

Positive

The money from the salary cuts will be used for other business procedures such as expansion
of the work procedures leading to job enlargement. According to Herzberg’s two factor
theory there are hygiene factors and motivational factors which can motivate workers and
amongst the motivational factors there must be promotional opportunities, growth and

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advancement opportunities in an organization to motivate the employees to perform well.
These cuts can also be used to improve organization operations like for example health and
safety measures hence fulfilling the primary needs of the employees therefore motivating
them as explained by Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Negative

It has led to salary cuts since employee contracts can be terminated any time and this has the
effect that the employee standards of living will be reduced. For example Proton Bakers
employees’ salaries were cut half way in February 2016 and this resulted in some of the
managers quitting their jobs. According to the results obtained of the Gross Domestic Product
after the implementation of the labour act this shows that the standards of living has dropped.

No packages

Negative

The termination of contracts without packages has led to poor standards of living for the
employee after the termination of contracts. For example some employees of OK
supermarket lost their jobs and no packages were given to them. Mr Chagonda said after the
expiry of the notice period the worker leaves employment empty handed (Sunday mail 17
July 2015).

Payments in advance

Positive

The 3 months payment of employees in advance has a positive effect on employees due to the
concept of time value of money. For example some employees of Bakers INN were given
their three months’ salary in advance in November 2015. It’s also an advantage to the
employees to get money as a once of payment rather than instalments which will result in no
tangible investment. According to NewsdzeZimbabwe 17 July 2015 some companies may opt
to pay the workers their 3 months’ salary at once without working and ask him or her to leave
immediately.

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Commenting on the relevance of the Labour Act Section 12 which was used to terminate
employment on notice

Regulation of the period on notice

According to Chief Justice Chidyuasiku, the judgment on Section 12(4) of the Labour Act is
the one that regulates the period on notice. For example a three months’ notice on a contract
of employment which had no period of termination or lasting more than a period of 2 years,
one month notice in the case of a contract for a period of six months or more but less than one
year and two weeks or in the case of a contract for a period of three months or more, but less
than six months among others.

Retrenchment procedures

Farirai Machivenyika a senior reporter, who wrote an article entitled “Unions welcome bill
terms” in the herald newspaper of 17 August 2015 stated that, “ Clause 5 repeals parts of
Section 12 C of the Labour Act dealing with retrenchment procedures and creates the
compensation procedure in 12C(2) which reads, “Unless better terms are agreed between the
employer and employee concerned on their representatives, a package hereinafter called the
minimum retrenchment package of not less than one month’s salary or wages for every two
years of service as an employee( or the equivalent lesser proportion of one month’s salary or
wages for a lesser period of service ) shall be paid by the employer as compensation for loss
of employment (whether the loss of employment is occasioned by retrenchment or by virtue
of the termination of employment pursuant to section 12 (4a)(a), (b) or (c), no later than date
when the notice of termination of employment takes effect. “ This tends to highlight the
relevance of Section 12 on the termination of the employment on notice since it highlighted
the retrenchment procedures attributable to employees whose contracts were terminated on or
after the date of 17 July 2015.

Protection of employees against unfair dismissals

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According to Fadzai Madzingira, a Zimbabwean currently reading the Masters of Public
Policy at Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, stated that the dismissal is unfair in the
sense that it was not stated on the employment or model code thus providing a high rate of
uncertainty towards the job security of an employee.

Reduces termination cost

Termination of contracts on notice becomes the cheaper way of fairing workers for firms, as
they do not have to give any explanation or conduct disciplinary hearings, let alone follow the
expensive retrenchment route. This is clearly explained in the one day notice in the case of a
contract for the period of less than 3 months or in the case of casual or seasonal workers as
stated by chief Justice Chidyausiku. For example in the rain season CUT employees casual
workers and when the rain season is over the employment contract is terminated and those
employees go without retrenchment packages and hence termination cost are reduced for the
institution. A similar example was stated by Mr Chagonda who said workers will now go
home empty handed implying there are no termination cost (in the Case of Zuva petroleum
and its managers Nyamande and Donga who’s employment was terminated on notice).

However there are certain scenarios when Section 12 proves to be irrelevant in the
termination of the employment on notice and these include:

Limited to employment or model code

Section 12(4a) prohibits employers from terminating an employment contract on notice

unless such termination is in terms of an employment or model code. This implies that if the
termination is not based on the employment or model code it is rendered void and the
employees would not fall as victims of the termination of the employment on notice. This
therefore implies that section 12 would not apply whenever it is not stated in the employment
or model code. Farirai Machivenyika also stated that section 12 was only applicable when
both parties mutually agree in writing or when employee was engaged for a fixed period.

Limited to open ended contracts

These are contracts in which there is no end date in the termination of the contract. According
to the “Unions welcome labour bill terms” workers with open ended contracts and whose
termination is based upon subsection 4(a) of section 12 are eligible for compensation. This

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implies that section 12 is irrelevant to non-open ended contracts and the employees involved
in them are not bound to receive any compensation which was stated in section 12 subsection
4(a). This therefore proves the irrelevance of section 12 in the termination on employment on
notice.

Limited to employees whose services were terminated on 3 months’notice

Clause 18 reads, “Section 12 of this act applies to every employee whose services were
terminated on 3 months’ notice on or after the 17th of July 2015. This implies that section 12
has a tendency of becoming irrelevant to other contracts which do not a have three months’
notice in terms of the compensation for the retrenchment packages as based by Farirai
Machivenyika, a senior reporter.

It does not apply when contract is terminated on death of employees

The court held that the term ‘dismissal’, as used under section 12B, does not refer to every
termination of employment. For instance, termination will not amount to dismissal if the
employee dies or if the employee resigns because the employer-employee relationship has
broken down but neither party is at fault. In such cases, the court held that an employer has a
contractual right to issue a notice terminating the employee’s contract, even in the absence of
fault on the part of the employee. Such a right is rooted in contract law and available
independent of the provisions of the Act. Where there is misconduct or fault of some kind by
the employee, the relevant employee code applies and only then does section 12B apply.

Irrelevant to retrenchments outside the scope of Section 12

In Nyamande, the court states that retrenchments falling outside the scope of section 12C are
not covered under Section 12B. By classifying such retrenchments as terminations of the
employment contract that do not amount to dismissal (for the purposes of Section 12B), the
judgment heavily dilutes the protections available to retrenched workers. According to, “
Terminating Employee Rights: A Discussion of Nyamande and another v Zuva Petroleum,”
written on 11 August 2015, the retrenchment procedures cannot apply to any employee who
falls outside the scope of Section 12.

Evaluating the relevance of the Labour Amendment Act Number 5 of 2015

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Amendment No.5 Of 2015

Clause 5: This clause seeks to quickly resolve the current cumbersome retrenchment
procedure which is a long drawn costly process that leaves the employer and employee at
loggerheads. This clause sets out a minimum retrenchment package.

There are factors that shall be considered in coming up with a retrenchment package where
an enterprise seeks to be exempted that will be looked at, such as the ability to pay; relocation
and job security for the remaining employees (in addition to the current existing statutory
obligations such as notice pay) by the Retrenchment Board and the Minister (the Sunday mail
August 16, 2015)

Advantages

Resolves conflicts

Conflict is resolved in the sense that some employers might want to terminate employees
without retrenchment packages yet the workers would want packages, the amendment stated
that the workers should be given these packages therefore there will not be any loggerheads
between the employer and the employees.

Considers remaining employees

This clause takes into consideration the remaining employees in the sense that, when coming
up with the retrenchment package, it considers If the remaining resources will be enough to
pay the salaries of the remaining employees, allows for the relocation of remaining
employees and also consider the their job security o remain at the safe zone.

Brings trade unions into use

Trade unions come into play in that, if workers try to retrench workers without packages,
trade unions will come into play to represent the employees so that they are given these
packages as stated by the Amendment Number 5. Trade unions can even take the action of
suing employers for not obliging to the amendment so it gives employees a greater chance of
being given these packages since they have a louder voice than individual employees.

Motivation

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The amendment brings about motivation in the employees due to the fact that it assures them
of a minimum packages when a contract is terminated. This minimum package acts as a
reward on termination and hence employees will be motivated with the reward power.

Reduced costs

The labour amendment number 5 talks about a minimum retrenchment package to

employees. This means that a company will now spent small lump sums in catering for
retrenchment costs. Thereby in so doing the firm’s costs are reduced and surplus income can
be used for other purposes such as expanding its activities.

Disadvantages

Increase costs

The retrenchment packages will increase cost to the employer since he will be expected to
meet the minimum retrenchment package cost.

Causes conflicts

The labour amendment number 5 of 2015 specifies the conditions and amount of packages
that firms has to meet when they retrench workers and in some cases firms take advantage of
these minimum packages and conditions and give workers small minimum lump sums and
workers may not be satisfied with these packages resulting in conflicts and demonstrations by
workers.

Conclusion

In conclusion we can see that the supreme court judgment brought about positive and
negative implications to the employees but mostly negative implications like salary cuts and
removal of disciplinary councils, the Labour act section 12 had its relevancies and
irrelevancies, mostly irrelevances like it does not apply when contract is terminated on death
of employees and irrelevant to retrenchments outside the scope of Section 12 and the labour
amendment No. 5 also brought about relevancies and irrelevances but mostly relevancies like
bringing trade unions into use, considers remaining employees and reducing termination
costs.

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QUESTION:

The Zimbabwe labour act in 2015 was amended in a bid to repeal the common law provision
that have been used by employers to fire workers on 3-month notice. Citing relevant
examples discuss the implication of the Supreme Court judgement on the termination of
employment on notice to the social partners in industrial relations.

Introduction

The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe is the highest court of order and the final court of appeal in
Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwean Labour Act was recently amended following what the Herald
newspaper edition of 18 July 2015 described as a shock labour ruling. This was pursuant to
the Supreme Court judgment in Don Nyamande & Anor v Zuva Petroleum (Pvt) Ltd delivered
on 17 July 2015 asserting an employer’s common law right to unilaterally terminate a
contract of employment on notice. The new section 12 (4a) of the Labour Act makes for
interesting reading. Its mandatory wording allows for termination on notice in four instances,
namely; where it is done in terms of either an employment code or the model code made
under section 101(9) of the Labour Act; or the employer and employee mutually agree in
writing to the termination of the contract; or the employee was engaged for a period of fixed
duration or for the performance of some specific service; or pursuant to retrenchment, in
accordance with section 12C. In all the aforesaid four scenarios, an employee whose contract
of employment has been terminated is legally entitled to compensation for loss of
employment as stipulated in terms of the new section 12C of the Labour Act. Among others,
there is a raging debate mainly on the possible interpretation(s) to be ascribed to section
12(4a) of the Labour Act. This essay seeks to explore some of the likely interpretations and
their impact on the employment relationship.

Definition of key terms

Labour Amendment Act - the new labour legislation that became effective on 26 August
2015 and had been on the cards since 2006. It was supposed to address contentious labour
issues such as Collective job action (labour unrest or strikes), Collective bargaining
agreements, streamlining ministerial powers, Harmonising private sector and public sector
employment regulations and conditions of service to avoid dual legislation, Retrenchment

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procedures and benefits (packages) in light of the Supreme Court ruling of 17 July 2015. Also
known as Amended Labour Act, 2015.

Industrial or Labour relations - the general understanding and shared meaning on issues to
do with employment contract usually between the employer and employees and at times the
involvement of the state
Worker - a person employed to provide labour in return for reward or compensation in line
with the agreed employment contract.

Supreme Court ruling - A landmark judgement made by the highest court that compelled
employers to dismiss(retrench) employees by giving 3 months’ notice without need to
justify which culminated in employers /dismissing/firing employees willy-nilly.

Implications of the Supreme Court ruling to employees

Health Crisis

The abrupt termination of employment has left thousands of people without jobs and as a
result, this has seriously affected the health of the affected people and their families. Most of
them could not even pay for their medical aid as evidenced by the News Day of 30 July 2015
by Silence Charumbira, commenting on the community working group on health (CWGH).
The executive of CWGH, Itai Rusike reiterated that massive lay off without any financial
packages or psychological support systems were likely to trigger serious health
consequences. To worsen the situation amongst that have been retrenched are people with
chronic illnesses such as Cancer, Diabetes, Hypertension and HIV, as a result they
automatically lose their medical aid cover since they were rendered incapable of paying their
monthly subscriptions.

Loss of education of students on apprenticeship

The supreme court ruling that upholder the employers right to fire workers on three months’
notice without benefits has resulted in the termination of contracts of 68 students who were
on apprenticeship at National Railways of Zimbabwe on August 17, 2015 The apprentices
were given letters last three weeks into the apprenticeship programme as reported in the
herald newspaper by Shingirai Huni on August 25, 2015. This impacted on the education

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system of the students as some have left their jobs and courses to become apprenticeship of
the parastatal.

Unplanned expulsion of massive employees from work

According to the herald newspaper of August 20, 2015 Silence Muchemwa reported that
Labour unions say that more than 20 000 workers have lost their jobs since the July 17
Supreme Court ruling. Among the companies that terminated workers using the 17 July
Supreme Court ruling were most the parastatals including the Chitungwiza council which was
reported to have fired 238 workers, the Chinhoyi council which fired 124 workers and the list
is endless. Most companies used the judgement to get rid of their wage bill which negatively
impacted on their profit. As of the date 25 August 2015 when the president of Zimbabwe
signed the amended labour bill the Newsday reported that approximately 25 000 people lost
their jobs in the past 40 days alone as employers took advantage of the ruling to streamline
their workforce in the midst of a debilitating economic crisis.

Sinking of unpaid dues

Most workers were terminated without being paid their dues. As was said in the Herald
newspaper by Musah Gwaunza on 1 September 2015 reported that in an interview, Mr
Makunde said council was incapacitated to pay the salary arrears. Mr Makumbe said the
situation still stands for the fired workers. As council, we have nothing that we can do in as
far as paying their salary arrears is concerned. The reason why we asked them to go home
was the burden before us that we do not have money to continue paying them salaries. During
the talks, Mr Makunde is said to have promised to pay them their three months’ notice salary
only insisting council did not have the capacity to pay the salary arrears. Terminated workers
were left hopeless as there was no clear passage as to if their salaries were going to be paid.

Lack of Job security

The implications of the Supreme Court judgement on the termination of employment notice
to the social partners in industrial relations resulted in lack of Job security. Within moments
of delivery of the judgment in the Don Nyamande vs Zuva Petroleum case, the case had
already gone viral in Zimbabwe. Legal experts warned that the case had negative effects on
job security in Zimbabwe, thus a few months down the line employers took advantage of this
case as they manipulated their power in terminating several employees’ contracts of

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employment without using retrenchment procedures. Some people even doubted the essence
of labour laws after the unjust malpractice in the Don Nyamande case. Some scholars are of
the view that most of the employees in Zimbabwe who are permanent have been reduced to
temporary workers in light of this judgment. Reports by the media also suggested that a lot of
employees were laid off work after the Supreme Court ruling in this case showing that
employers took advantage of this ruling. It is also important to note that even before the
Supreme Court had delivered judgment on the Don Nyamande case, employers were already
terminating the employees’ contracts of employment on notice basing on the Labour Court
judgment. Several companies had abandoned the normal retrenchment procedures in favor of
the cheaper way of terminating contracts on notice. Hence it is crystal clear that implications
of the Supreme Court Judgement on the termination of employment notice to the social
partners in industrial relations resulted in lack of Job security as most employees are now
being offered 1 to 3 months’ contracts and some permanent staff are now being treated like
any other general workers thus they have to sign at least a 6-month contact.

Permanent employees were reduced to contract employees

The provision of the act provided power for employers to set limits on the duration of fixed
term contract within a particular industry. Any renewable beyond that period would
automatically transform the concerned employee into a permanent by operation of the law. It
follows benefits accorded to employees on contracts without limitation would be applicable
to such employees from the first day beyond the set limit of the fixed term contract. The
employee on contract by operation of the law will not be entitled to any right and benefits
which are available to permanent workers. The provision of the act did not protect all the
fixed term contract employees including seasonal workers, in other words contract workers
may not continue to sign contracts forever. Section 12B (3)(b) of the labour act also promotes
retention of contract workers unless if it has been specifically mentioned there is no room for
creation of legitimate expectation of continued employment at the end of a particular
contract.

Employees were left exposed

The Labour law was created to aid the employee in his relationship against the employer. Its
thrust is to curtail excesses by the employer which flow from the unequal bargaining power
between the two parties. Among others, the employer’s right to terminate on notice has been

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left for the parties to agree on. The legislation inexplicably assumes that the two parties’
bargaining powers are the same. Nothing could be further from the truth. Labour can never be
equal to capital in the sphere of bargaining power. Capital will always have the bigger say in
the relationship should it go unregulated. As such, the amendment of 2015, did not address
the real cause which created the problem which the legislature sought to rectify by the
amendment. In making the amended section 12 retrospective in its application, the legislature
acknowledged that the employer was wielding too much power in the employment
relationship which enabled it to insert clauses which allowed employers to terminate on
notice. The ruling on the Zuva case, left workers in telecoms exposed as organization like
Eco net who are on cost cutting exercise might turn into shedding of” staff that is not pivotal”
(Techzim, 2015)

Collective job action

Employees felt that the duration of notice to conduct a collective job action was rather too
long and there were also a lot of procedures that needed to be followed. Majority of these
procedures had lots of challenges and had bureaucratic tendencies. Majority felt these were
put in place to either delay the industrial action or kill off the spirit or enthusiasm (frustration)
of workers to proceed.

Implications of the Supreme Court ruling to employers

Rationalise operations

In line with a July 17 Supreme Court ruling, employers managed to capitalize from the
judgement by firing a huge sum of their workers to rationalise operations. This resulted in
organisation retaining only those key workers in production and administrations. Companies
managed to restructure their organisation to suit the costs environment characterised by a
crippling liquidity crunch, low capacity utilisation, falling productivity and deflation.

Cost cutting

The Supreme Court ruling led employers to reduce costs through the dismissal of employees
on three months on notice. Employers were incurring high costs in remunerations and salaries
which led them to operate below capacity because nearly all profit were going towards

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salaries and expenses of the company, for example Sino-Zim company dismissed over 300
employees following the July 17 Supreme Court ruling. During the same period Econet
Wireless reduced its costs by $70 million through cutting of salaries and wages of their
employees among other things in order to reduce their wage bill. In addition, on 26 july,9
days after the first ruling, the same supreme court made another landmark ruling giving
employers the right to withdraw employee’s allowances and benefits saying these were non a
right or entitlement in a case between NRZ vs its employees. (Zimbabwe independents :29
July 2015)

Retrenchment packages/benefits

Employees were not happy with the meagre retrenchment benefits while employers disagreed
with the payment based on minimum retrenchment package. Most employers complained that
Zimbabwe remained expensive country on labour issues compared to other Southern Africa
Development Community (SADC) countries as there was hardly any employment flexibility
due to prohibitive legislation (labour related acts).

Reduced employee productivity

One of the worst results experienced from termination of employment on notice was reduced
level of productivity from the employees. This is so because most employees thought that
one way or the other, they were still going to be sent home, which greatly demotivated them
leading to poor performance as they felt that their efforts will not be appreciated at the end of
the day. This did not end there but it went on to impact all the other variables which are
affected by production like profit.

Liability of employees’ payables

To some organisations, terminating the contract of employment on notice was a very good
move as is reduced cost. However, there was need for proper planning before sending
employees home as it would be costlier than keeping employees at work. This is so because
most employees had loans from various financial institutions which had the organisations
they worked for as guarantees of payment, and the moment these organisations sent their
employees home is the time they had to start paying for the loans which were taken by their
former employees. A good example was in line with Mashonaland Tobacco Company, which

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had a debt of one hundred and fifty-seven thousand dollars transferred to their accounts by
various financial institutions.

Labor law seems to compel employers to pay employees dismissed for misconduct

The wording of section 12(4a) of the Labour Act now leaves a lot to be desired as it may
potentially be interpreted to mean that an employer who charges an employee for an act of
misconduct like theft or fraud, proceeds to conduct a disciplinary hearing and finds the
employee guilty and proceeds to dismiss such employee from employment, is legally obliged
to compensate the errant employee. This becomes the case if one applies a literal rule of
interpretation being the ordinary grammatical meaning of the words used in terms of section
12(4a) as read with section 12C of the new Labor Act. The literal rule is always the first port
of call in statutory interpretation but it can be departed from if it leads to an absurdity. The
new labor law seems to compel employers to pay employees dismissed for misconduct and/or
thieving employee’s compensation in terms of section 12C post termination for misconduct.
This line of interpretation may be rejected by courts of law and other labour tribunals as it
may potentially lead to a glaring absurdity which was not contemplated by the legislature.
Under the old labor law, an employer was not legally obliged to pay a dismissed employee
any compensation apart from any applicable normal terminal benefits provided in terms of
section 13 of the Labour Act. The only circumstance where an employer would be legally
compelled to pay a dismissed employee some compensation is where an arbitrator or court of
law would have made a finding that the concerned employee was unfairly dismissed and as
an alternative to the remedy of reinstatement, the employer would be given the option of
compensating that employee by paying damages in lieu of reinstatement.

Implications of the Supreme Court ruling to the Government

Failure to comply with best practices

The results showed that there was almost total disregard or ignorance of the commitments
Zimbabwe made to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) concerning alignment of
some provisions of the Labour Amendment Act, 2015 to ratified conventions, in particular
the right to collective bargaining and freedom of association. There was totally refusal to

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align collective job action to the New Constitution of Zimbabwe of 2013. According to
several stakeholders particularly the ZCTU, although consultations with social partners were
done during the crafting of the Act at the Bill stage, some inputs agreed to were deliberately
omitted like the right to strike, maternity leave and strengthening the labour court to enforce
its decisions and those of arbitrators among others.

Failure to accommodate civil servants on collective bargaining

Although the Labour Act largely covers the private sector and parastatals, some stakeholders
had lobbied for the inclusion of government workers (civil servants) on issues particularly of
engaging government on collective bargaining and not on the current consultation capacity.
The same Act makes it clear that civil servants and those in the military (uniformed forces)
cannot participate in industrial action. The failure to have a collective bargaining platform in
government has resulted in government making unilateral decisions for example whether to
increase salaries and benefits or pay bonuses or not, shifting salary dates even at the last
minute like the 29 December 2015 date which was moved to 5 January 2016 for majority of
civil servants except teachers and uniformed forces (army, police, prisons, central
intelligence) who were paid in December 2015.

Unemployment

The labour amendment Act caused hardships to business in the country by further stifling
economic growth and causing massive unemployment. The very anti thesis of what the state
sought to achieve. All these problems arose due to curtailment of the employers right to
terminate an employment contract by notice. The amendment act, caused unnecessary limit to
enjoyment of employer’s fundamental right without reason, fairness or justification thereby
violating the constitutional right of the majority. This plunged the Zimbabwe labour relations
into turmoil.

Violation of Section 65 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and ILO Convention 158

An employers’ right to terminate a contract of employment on notice appears to be a negation

of the labour rights enshrined in terms of section 65 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe which
among others underscore the right to fair labour practices and the right to just and equitable
conditions of employment. In the same vein, an employer’s right to terminate a contract of

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employment on notice runs afoul of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention
158 which provides that an employee’s contract of employment should not be terminated
without a valid cause related to the employee’s conduct, capacity or operational requirements
of the employer. The argument that both employers and employees should equally enjoy the
right to terminate a contract of employment is misconceived and premised on a fallacy that
employers and employees are equal. Theoretically employers and employees are equal but
practically they are unequal because an employee is invariably economically dependent on
the employer. The employer owns the treasury purse and if an employee fails to toe the
employer’s line, such an employee can be condemned to hunger and abject poverty. Also an
employer cannot complain of being subjected to forced labour and hence deserving of an exit
route in the form of termination on notice. It is only an employee who can suffer from forced
labour and hence an employee is allowed to terminate a contract of employment on notice
through resignation.

Conclusion

The study concluded that the Labour Amendment Act, 2015 had not done much to improve
Industrial and Labour relations in Zimbabwe as it had brought new complex problems to both
employees and employers and had almost total disregard of ILO Conventions.

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QUESTION:

Using an organization you familiar with discuss the performance appraisal

technique used at that organization and recommend ways to improve the
technique.

Organizations are intertwined bodies that requires greater co-operation of all segments to
function properly. Human resource management is one of those segments which need to be
addressed with issues dealing with the human asset of the organization. More so, for the HR
management to be successful different techniques must be rolled into action such as
performance appraisals. Performance appraisal as noted Schuler and Jackson (2006), involves
evaluating performance based on judgments of subordinates, peers, supervisors, other
managers and even employees themselves. There are different types of appraisal techniques
which include confidential reports, critical incident technique, checklist, and management by
objectives, paired comparison, 360 degree feedback and many others. These performance
appraisals help to make decisions like promotions, terminations, transfers, wage hikes and
training needs. At CUT HOTEL they use a performance appraisal technique called the
management by objectives (MBO).

At CUT HOTEL they greatly use the management by objectives (MBO) technique to
appraise their employees on their performance. This is a technique of managing performance
that relies on goal setting to establish objectives for the organization as a whole, for each
department, for each manager within each department and each employee, according Cascio
(2010). In support of this of motion an organization has to set goals they want to achieve
within a specific period of time and these goals are distributed to different levels of the
organization. Taking an example of CUT HOTEL, the board of directors meets at different
occasions to set new goals and review existing ones. These goals then pave the way for
objectives to be made clear for every department of the hotel.

Price (2007) notes that, this is a technique to establish individual performance and objectives
are tangible, measurable and verifiable. The individual objectives are derived or cascaded

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from organizational goals. For this technique to be possible it encompasses four main stages.
The first stage is of goal setting were all specific goals are set to be achieved within an agreed
period of time. The goals set must be challenging, attainable, measurable and relevant. The
measurable aspect should have objectives which are set in numerical terms for example CUT
HOTEL would say they want increased room occupancy by 75% for the months of February
and March 2014. On the issue goal relevancy this must be directly related to the person’s job
and consistent with the overall organization objectives.

The second stage involves action planning and this is the means of the process. This stage
requires individual employees to find extra-ordinary ways to accomplish set objectives. The
action plan must serve as a basis for a regular discussion between the manager and the
employee concerning employee’s performance. This also takes into consideration the
performance standards which may be required for the objectives to be achieved. This stage is
well implemented at CUT HOTEL were the manager, supervisors and employees discuss
about critical issues on achieving the objectives. This might be on how to improve or
introduce new and better food dishes and beverages in the food and beverage department.
The same is also done with other departments like the reservations, housekeeping and
accounting as better avenues are found to meet targeted objectives.

Self-control is the third stage of MBO. The appraisal technique is a self-driven process with
each person participating in setting their own goals and action plans. This result in greater
commitment and employees involved are expected to control their own behavior in order to
achieve performance targets. The people involved in the technique must be in the right state
of the mind for the objectives to be met. This is then compared to CUT HOTEL were all the
employees, supervisors and the manager come to work in their slotted shifts in their right
healthy state so as to serve the guests to their satisfaction and meeting set objectives.

The last stage is of periodic reviews and these checks on far the objectives are being met.
Individuals must be provided with an opportunity to check their performance at regular
intervals so that obstacles can be identified. Reviews should take a positive coaching
approach rather than a critical approach whereby best and worst incidents of behavior are

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analyzed. Cascio (2010) supports that periodic tracking of progress helps to keep behavior on
target and it provides better understanding of the reasons behind a given level of
performance. These checks will come as reminders to employees on those well-defined
objectives and how they have maintained to be in the same direction in executing them. In the
process of doing this employees in the organization are thereby being assessed in accordance
with existing results. Taking into consideration of all these stages the MBO process becomes
easier to assess performance of different people in the organization. The employee’s
performance and progress are clearly measured and documented every step of the way.

Management by objectives technique works at CUT HOTEL and other different

organizations since it has different advantages over other appraisal techniques. This technique
helps in building relationship between managers and employees. At CUT HOTEL when
goals are set by the board of directors, the manager enables that there is great deal of contact
and communication among the individuals in different departments of the hotel. This
communication induces co-operation between the manager and all employees as discussions
are undertaken in formulating objectives and finding better ways of accomplishing them.

It also has another advantage of clarifying structure, roles and responsibilities of individuals
for achieving goals. Werner et al (2011) states that, this technique provides for an initial goal
setting phase, based on the formation of long-range organizational objectives that are
cascaded through to department goals and finally individuals goals. In support of this quote it
is clear that structure has been made the foundation where roles and responsibilities can built
on for the achievement of the desired objectives. Specialization of work becomes easier when
every employee at the origination knows his/her responsibilities meaning efficiency is
concentrated in objectives set.

More so, the MBO technique has an advantage in that it ensures that there is better and more
effective management. Managers are able to plan for results since this technique is more of
result oriented. The managers we will be able to have a spectrum view of employees who are
working towards achieving desired goals. Major decisions are also made in terms of
improving employees who working towards the organizational goals or parting ways with

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those who continuously fail to adapt with these set goals. These decisions will have an impact
on the results which form the basis of the technique.

However, the technique also has disadvantages which work against it. The MBO technique
misses out intangibles like honesty and integrity. Employees can go out of their way to
achieve set objectives in unethical ways and when they are assessed on performance they are
said to be achievers. This then undermines the issue of how the process is carried out as only
emphasis is put on the result.

More so, the technique requires the manager and supervisors to have very good reality
checking skills. Since the technique requires periodic checks, the assessors should know how,
what and where to check in accordance with set goals. Lack of these checking skills makes it
difficult for an ordinary person out of context to use the appraisal method.

MBO as a technique of performance appraisal has a problem in that it fails to make

comparative ratings of different individuals. The technique sets goals which are channelled to
different departments and individuals as different objectives. This then makes it difficult to
compare individuals from different departments as their efforts in performance may greatly
differ due to their set objectives.

This technique requires different ways which can be used to improve its effectiveness.
Greatly it requires reviewing to be done quarterly rather than annually. When reviewing is
done quarterly, accurate reflection of the employee’s performance is brought out in better
dimension. This means that managers and supervisors pays close attention and observes how
employees are achieving their objectives.

Management by objectives technique can also be improved by properly training the leaders
on performance appraisal reviews. This is greatly necessary for managers and supervisors as
they are able to acquire the skills of evaluating accurately with limited mistakes. Proper

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training enables managers to evaluate employees on their performance based on their
classifications set out by the organizational goals. Managers will not evaluate employees out
of context but in the proper boundaries of the technique.

More so, when performance reviews are being conducted managers and supervisors should
try to make communication a two way process rather than a confrontation way. Byars and
Rue (2008) supports that, these regular discussions provide an opportunity for the manager
and employee to discuss progress and modify objectives when necessary. This means that
reviews are more of coaching the employees to rectify were they are going wrong in order to
meet their set targets rather fishing them out as failures.

In conclusion the MBO technique is mainly a result oriented performance appraisal and it has
its strengths and weaknesses which can be greatly maintained and improved in different ways
to achieve its effectiveness.

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QUESTION 28:

a. Discuss the implication of the Supreme Court judgement on termination of

employment on notice of 17 July 2015 to the employees and employers.
b. Comment on the relevance of the labour act section 12 which was used to terminate
the employment on notice.
c. Evaluate the relevance of the Labour Amendment Act No. 5 of 2015 as a result of the
Supreme Court judgement of 17 July 2015.

PART A

Employers

This supreme court judgement act will give rise to a reduction in labour costs overtime as the
retrenchment packages are to be removed as well such that the employers will gain the
removal of the burden of high labour costs as it said that the majority of the costs that
organisations are incurring currently in the country is highly constituted by labour. This will
go in favour of employers in the long run as they can dedicate the funds saved to finance
other long term projects

In times of organisational mishap and financial discrepancies the employers are now free to
reduce on the costs and debts associated to them by cutting on the labour costs by the act of
retrenchment of other workers that they can relatively do without. This will save them on
overall costs as no retrenchment packages will be offered in turn.

Also this decision will be of merit to the employers as they have the free role of hiring and
firing workers at any time basing on their capabilities and general expertise and the overall
handling of the tasks given to them. Employers will now have the flexibility in labour choice
such that they will employ the cream from the labour pool and the employers will be working
towards achievement of organisational goals

The employer will be saved from the expectations of the psychological contract of satisfying
future prospects of the employee. This in turn means that if at any time the employer fails to
meet or oblige with the demands and what the employee will be expecting, they now have the

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real right to end the contract at any time they feel necessary as they will not be held
accountable in any way as this has been passed by the supreme court

Furthermore the employers will face problems in worker motivation. They will struggle to
motivate the workers the workers as a result of the lack of security as according to Maslow`s
Hierarchy of needs as there will be no job security at all as dismissal will be more likely to
knock at the employee`s door at any time of the day so they will be driven by the fear of
being kicked out of the organisation at any time.

To employers this Supreme Court judgement will scare away potential labour expertise that
could have taken their organisations to another level in terms of competency and overall
performance. This is in the sense that the potential employees will defer their applications as
they see no opportunity of career advancement prospects in the near future as their
employment will be prone to be terminated at any time taking into consideration the current
situation and conditions in the economic setup of the country.

More so the employers will lack that coordination with employees the organisation as a
whole will lack vision of achievement of set targets as the employees will be having the fear
of termination of employment such that in the long run they will not be that loyal to the
organisation

Not least however, are the grave consequences which this judgement will have on the
economic configurations of the country. Foremost is the fact that the majority of the
employers will seek to save their companies by laying off more employees. This is so
because as in this day it is human resources that is more expensive than machinery therefore
to reduce that expense they tend to reduce workers in the organisation. As it has been the goal
of every organisation to make sure that maximise on their profits as an organisation, and with
the current economic situation it has become hard to maintain the staff as they are. A very
good example is how Econet has decided to reduce costs of the company through reducing
employees’ salaries by about 25% therefore saving more.

However these employees will be left with no option but to revert to the already congested
informal sector, not only putting a further strain but also complicating any formalization
efforts that may be underway. As the government tried so hard to reduce the informal sector
especial those operating in Central Business Districts like in Harare on the streets with no
license to do so, no matter how much they have tried to reduce that has all been put to waste
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because the unemployment rate has increased but either way people have to survive so for
them that is the only option left. There is the indigenisation policy to promote local
businesses but finance is always the issue and the hustle that is making them go on the streets
and do things unlawful. It is a fast way of getting money as well as the only option they have.

Further, the massive retrenchments and vulnerability of employees in general will lead to
increased emigration leading to more pressure on neighbouring countries economies and thus
subjecting Zimbabweans to further scorn within those countries. This is the main reason why
there has been xenophobia in South Africa. This is due to the fact that many Zimbabweans
had flew to South Africa so as to get jobs and this has gave pressure on the South African
economy. It also upsets the neighbouring countries citizens as we will be taking away their
jobs therefore leads to bad relationships between two countries.

The consequences will be much worse for those people who are employed under informal
arrangements who already suffered acute employment insecurity, underpayment while
working for long hours. Without wanting to undermine the rule of law, ZISO believes that it
is imperative for the lawmakers to relook at the law in the context of the prevailing economic
circumstances and the already evident grave consequences of the landmark judgement.

There is need for law reform towards more protection of the few workers that remain in
formal employment such as the civil servants and those who are employed within the
informal sector. However even the civil servants are affected as well so therefore the
government should see to it that employees are protected because some employers are taking
it as an excuse to unfairly dismiss even they will go and employ someone whom they think
they want. It is more of an excuse to some employers but to some it’s not. The government
should see to it that the reason why the organisation has decided to dismiss workers is a solid
reason because some employees are suffering because of the law which is being misused.
Government must review and reconsider the labour act taking into account the prevailing
economic situation and ensuring that people are not pushed beyond the corner. They should
see to it that they avoid such because they are practising labour activism and would result in
the victimisation of workers than employers as they are the one to gain more in this.

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The labour act section twelve (12) clearly states how to terminate employment contracts. It
states that termination of employment should be done when there has been a notice of three
(3) months. This is relevant because in most cases it helps both the employer as well as the
employee. This helps the employee and it gives

PART B

The law was crafted to stem massive job cuts that cuts that followed Supreme Court judge
justice Godfrey Chidyausiku’s ruling, allowing companies to terminate their employees
contracts of employment on three months’ notice without benefits. This has resulted in over
25 000 employees losing their jobs. The aim could have been to stop massive job cuts but it
has actually affected the economy of the country more than ever.

The relevance of the labour act is to a lesser extend because it has caused more chaos that it
has done good. Due to the unfair dismissal of workers it has led to the practice of unethical
practices to increase, which is not healthy for any economy and not to talk of organisations
themselves. To the organisation if workers get used to unethical practices therefore they will
be stealing from the organisation and the organisation is the one to suffer even more because
it is a cost. It increases the costs of the company and may lead to the organisation running a
loss just because of workers unethical practices. They say that stakeholders are important as
that if there are no customers then there is no need to produce and operate organisations but
also employees are also important as they are the ones that produce therefore if they feel
threatened at work they can do whatever it takes to make sure the company goes down with
the employee.

It has also reduced motivation of Zimbabwean workers to work towards improving the
economy. The labour act has shown the side that shows that it is unfair dismissal of workers
which makes it hard for workers. A worker deserves to be told why they are being dismissed
and to be appreciated for the time they have served the organisation. With the just one
employee the organisation would have benefited a lot more therefore every worker deserves
to be appreciated. According to the section 12c (2) “unless better terms are agreed between

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the employer and the employees concern or their representatives, a package ( hereinafter
called the minimum retrenchment package) of not less than one month’s salary for every two
years of service as an employee(or equivalent lesser proportion of one month’s salary or
wages for a lesser period of service) shall be paid by employees as a compensation for the
loss of employment no later than date when the notice of termination of employment takes
effect”.

This has led to the unemployment rate of the country increase to more than 90% from 80%
last year; it means that the countries poverty rate is going to increase and crime rate. As we
look at the central business district of Harare the city has become crowded by the informal
sector (vendors) who have been left jobless. This has killed so many businesses because the
vendors are stilling away the customers. A very good example are vendors outside the
ENBEE store are selling jersey’s, school socks, blazers and almost everything that is sold in
ENBEE stores. They usually offer the goods and services at a negotiable price. It has led to
the closure of companies in Harare and has also led to the crowdedness and crime rate to
increase. One would not even know who stole from him/her due to the crowdedness.

It has also led to the drainage of the country of skilled and qualified employees to opt to go
out were there would be job security, greener pastures as well as better living standards. A
very good example is the Zimbabwean people who are going to South Africa and nurses to
Canada. This therefore drains the country leaving it with the less skilled therefore they will be
no or less economic development of the country. Instead of the economy to grow it is now
shrinking.

However the labour act has been of great relevance so as to clearly put across how
employment contracts are lawfully terminated. For example in the case of ZUVA when the
court ruled that the employer would have to present a written notice so as to terminate or
dismiss an employee and the employee in terms of terminating an employment contract
he/she has to provide the organisation with a written notice before he or she leaves.

In conclusion the labour act has been of less relevance as it has cause chaos in the country
which is affecting the social and economic environment of the country to a greater extend. it
would have been of great relevance of the act clearly was protecting both parties the

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employees and employer. It seems to be taking the employers side more than the employees
and making them irrelevant. Therefore it should be revised and make it a point that every
party issues concerning the labour act should be fairly attended to.

PART C

Labour amendment act number 5 of 2015 was of great significant because it clearly stated out
how an employment contract and how a worker can be dismissed. This was clear enough so
as to protect workers that they cannot be unfairly dismissed in the sense that the employer
would have to give notice before dismissing an employee and it also have to be a written
notice if not it means that the employee cannot be dismissed what so ever. In other words the
labour retrenchment number 5 of 2015 is there to protect the employees from unfair
dismissal. A very good example is the case of ZUVA petroleum against its managers who
claimed to have been dismissed unfairly. The court ruled that the company has a right to give
a written notice to notify its employees on their dismissal and the court also ruled that if the
employee also wishes to leave the organisation he/she should present a written notice before
they leave the organisation. This show how much both parties are being protected by the rt
act number 5 of 2015.

However this labour amendment act number 5 of 2015 is of no relevance because it does not
say exactly how the notice is to be presented to the employee who is being given the notice.
They should at least take the notice through to the employment council as workers are of
great importance to the organisation. This helps in making the reason for dismissal to make
more sense. This in other words it is not protecting the workers but rather more of employers
and the employees are victimised. This makes it unfair dismissal. For the employees, treated
like dogs and like they are of no production whatsoever.

It also states how the package of termination should be like. This shows unfairness of the act
because according to the section 12c (2) “unless better terms are agreed between the
employer and the employees concern or their representatives, a package ( hereinafter called
the minimum retrenchment package) of not less than one month’s salary for every two years

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of service as an employee(or equivalent lesser proportion of one month’s salary or wages for
a lesser period of service) shall be paid by employees as a compensation for the loss of
employment no later than date when the notice of termination of employment takes effect”.
Some of the organisations such as CMED Company are given their packages for termination
of employment contract. At least those who have served for a longer period should be given
more packages because they would have done more for the organisation, but they are
however treated like they never contributed anything.

It was also of no relevance because to some employers such as Zimbabwe Broadcasting

Corporation, National Railways of Zimbabwe and some of the civil servants such as teachers
did not give their employees a termination notice retrenchment package. A very good
example are the civil servants in whom the termination of their contracts, a certain age group
was targeted. However as it is the dismissal of teachers today, there is no written notice as
well as there is no package for the termination of a contract.

Conclusion

In conclusion the amendment has made things even worse for the organisation because in the
amendment they state that a package is given but the package is for every two years you are
given one month salary really affecting those who are going out jobless they wouldn’t have
anywhere to start from.

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QUESTION 3:

Identify and explain in detail the factors which led to strikes in Zimbabwe from 1980 to 2000

Factors leading to strikes

 Low wages and salaries e.g. ZESA, in the year 2000 where the employees wanted a salary
increase by 50% while the company was willing to increase by 20-30% and this was
unacceptable to workers and a strike was called. Also RENCO mine workers burnt down
vehicles as they were striking against unpaid wages and poor working conditions
 Poor working/service conditions e.g. striking by nurses in 2003 and 2004, when they
demanded on the job safety (protection from contracting HIV for example), basic
equipment for service provision, which were unsatisfactory and the government had
failed to improve
 Unjust layoffs and retrenchments e.g. ZESA 2004, suspended its workers for going on
strike and this led to strikes as ZEWU protested against that decision, PTC workers went
on strike in May 1998 after 600 of its employees were unjustly retrenched. The Post and
Telecommunications Corporation fired 600 workers at Harare main post office who had
resumed their strike, and advised them to reapply. Gift Chimanikire, PTC workers union
secretary general, by then said the workers should commence their strike countrywide on
15 May
 Delays in fulfilling promises e.g. NRZ strike in June 2004, when NRZ deferred May
salary payments to June 15 following its failure to raise money to pay its more than 9 000
strong workforce. Morale among workers decreased despite having a 300 percent salary
rise on its workforce. War vets strikes, in 1997 caused by the government failure to
honour its promise for their compensation
 Victimisation of workers e.g. during the late 90c HIV positive employees had to strike
against their employers who were having a negative attitude towards HIV patients for
example, bakery called Aroma, Caledonia farm
 Change in company polices e.g. In April, 1996, Standard Chartered Bank, was shut for a
week when workers went out in protest over management's unilateral changes to bonus
allocation measures. Another example, LONHRO group of mine workers in Arcturus
went to a wild cat strikes in August 2000, strikers at a LONRHO mine in Arcturus set fire

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 to electricity installations in the course of a protest over company changes to housing
benefits
 Government polices e.g. a two day general strike starting December 8th 1997 was called
by the ZCTU in protest of the government policy (economic structural adjustment
programme- ESAP), accusing it of causing loss of jobs and the high levies.... According
to the ZCTU most workers' real wages were only one-quarter of what they were at
independence in 1980 and that the formal sector employment was stagnant since 1990,
and shrinking and the ZCTU estimated as many as 70,000 have been retrenched under
ESAP implementation.

Other famous strikes

 December 9; 1997 – two day general strike organised by the ZCTU

 LONRHO Wild Cats strikes in Arcturus - August 2000
 ZESA strikes - 2003
 PTC strikes - 2004
 RENCO Mine-16/08/2000
 Civil servants strikes – MOH, ZIMTA - 2003, 2004, 2005
 Standard Chartered Bank - April 1996

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QUESTION 10:

Identify and explain the benefits of training:

a) To the individual
b) To the organization

Benefits of training to the individual

 Increased motivation and morale

 Personal development
 Health and safety
 Minimisation of errors
 Blending in well especially in the case of new employees
 Promotional opportunities
 Involvement in decision making

Benefits of training to the organization

 Reduces wastage and costs

 Enhances corporate image
 Improved communication
 Better adaptation to change
 Improved product and service quality and delivery
 Enhances team spirit
 Helps firm adapt to changing technologies
 Innovation and creativity
 Customer satisfaction

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QUESTION 25:

Critique the applicability of the psychological contract violation model in Zimbabwean

Organizations and developed countries organizations.

Definition of terms

Psychological contract

This is an unwritten contract between employers and employees which covers a series of
mutual expectations and satisfaction of needs arising from the people-organisation
relationship. (Mullins, 2005)

Psychological contract violation

Psychological contract violation is defined as “a failure to comply with the terms of the
contracts” (Osland, Turner, Colb, & Rubin, 2007). These violations are perceived by the
employee based on what they expected at the time the promises were made by the employer
(Osland, Turner, Colb, & Rubin, 2007).

Introduction

Psychological contract has a number of components from both employer and employee. The
employee works and inputs time (hours), effort or ideas, performance results, commitment,
loyalty, mobility, innovation, leadership, sacrifice and work investment. The employer
rewards the employee by means of providing security, safety, care (both the employee and
the families), training and development, recognition, qualifications (career development),
work space or equipment, promotion, responsibility, tolerance, benefits (bonuses and
pension). However as these expectations are highly perceived by employees, employers tend
to violate these by not adhering to the organizational justice issues (distributive, procedural
and interactional justice issues) which generally leads to loads of negative attitude towards
the organization by the employees. It was observed that contract violation can result in
changed employee’s behaviour, commitment, and obligation toward the organization
(Robinson, Kraatz, & Rousseau, 1994; Kickul, 2001). Lester and Kickul (2007) did find that
when an employees’ psychological contract was broken, the employees were more likely to
be dissatisfied with their jobs and their intent to leave increased which in the end results in

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decreased productivity. All the above mentioned factors are to be discussed further as to
show if in Zimbabwe the organization can apply the model compared to developed countries.

The psychological contract violation model

The applicability of the psychological contract violation model in Zimbabwean organizations

is different from the applicability of this contract in developed countries organizations.

Distributive justice issues

Distributive justice refers to a concept that addresses the ownership of goods in a society and
assumes that there is a large amount of fairness in the distributions of these resources (Rawls
1971). In theory as a formula (equal work = equal outcome).Distributive violation occurs
when outcomes are seen to be unfairly distributed between group or work members for
example, financial rewards which include bonuses, salaries and vouchers etc

In Zimbabwe today some companies practice the distributive justice as they tend to reward
each individual employee equally based on their work grades, job experience and the level of
education one has, and the contribution one makes to the organisation (based on
performance). The companies that practice the fair allocation of these abundant or limited
resources tend experience a high level of workforce commitment since the employees would

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feel wanted and engaged in the system. More so such companies are more productive since
the employees are more satisfied with job they are doing, and also the effort that exists
towards a task is high thus resulting in the high productivity of companies. Examples of such
companies are Econet Wireless which evenly distributes the payments to employees in the
organisation thus these results in its market growth. However countless number of
Zimbabwean organizations has distributive injustice as they tend to unfairly distribute the
outcomes or proceeds of the organisation that is the unfair taxation of salaries, unequal
distribution of groceries and salaries. An example in Zimbabwean organizations like the City
Council the top employers generally award themselves with loads of bonuses and packages
whilst employees such as cleaners would go for months without receiving salaries.
Furthermore companies like the National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) have also gone for
months without paying their employees basic salaries thus resulting in employees having
lower organizational commitment and lower effort. Also it results in increased level of
cynicism as the employees won’t be sincere to any organisational activities carried out based
on profit making. Whereas in developed countries the violation is rare since the average
income of the least paid person can sustain and the economic conditions allow everyone to
get paid when they are supposed to be paid. In these developed countries due to the
availability of resources (money) it means that each individual gets paid fairly and they are
all committed to one objective that is to make profits.

Non-financial benefits

Employees when they are employed to the organisation they perceive that their medical
facilities would be catered for by their employers (organisation). In Zimbabwe certain
companies offer these medical facilities to their employees some of the organisation include
Delta Beverages. Based on the expectation of caring and well-being by the employees if the
companies tend to award them these medical aid facilities it results in the employees being of
low cynicism as they would care for others and the organisation objectives at large which
then results in positive results like high company profits. However not all of the companies
appreciate their employees to offering them these medical facilities as the policies would not
allow them to do that. An example is that of Swift where only top management are offered
these facilities (medical aid) whilst the low level employees do not receive such kind of
facilities. Since they do not receive such aid the low level employees feel so much unwanted
or not cared for which results in the low level employees having a very low commitment to
the company goals as they tend to be more cynical about their personal interest like safety at

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the place thus resulting in low revenues by the companies. However in developed eastern
countries they treat every employ whether top or low profile as more important which makes
them provide the medical aid facilities to both employees so as to keep them happy and feel
wanted by the organisation (employer). If the employees then feel wanted and cared for it
results in them obligating their full commitment to the organization resulting in the
organization accounting high market share and profits.

Procedural justice issues

Procedural justice is generally defined as the perceived fairness of the procedures used to
make decisions. In organizations, these decisions often involve allocating resources such as
promotions or raises. While people are certainly concerned with the fairness and favourability
of their outcomes, the procedures used to arrive at these decisions can also influence peoples’
reactions. One of the greatest challenges companies face is ensuring there is equity and fair
treatment among all rank of employees, regardless of their background, experience, or
perceived value to the business. If a policy is created for a division, that policy needs to apply
to everyone in that group. When a policy is developed for the entire company, all employees
must be held to the same standard. If the policy is altered for different people, procedural
justice is not implemented appropriately. Procedural violation occurs when the perception of
the unfair application of procedures such as safety and security, workspace and equipment,
promotion, training and if some employees neglect policies and are not punished.

Safe working environment

Since the independence of the country companies have continued to grow leading to high rate
of employment. On acquiring employment employees believe that their voice should be heard
in the decision making process such as the safety procedure at a workplace. In Zimbabwean
organizations safety of employees is not applicable and considered as important and a priority
while in developed countries this is regarded as one of the top priorities and they spend vast
amounts of money on security and safety of employees. In Zimbabwean the number of work
related deaths and injuries are quite alarming and this is mainly due to violation of the
psychological contract by these organizations. A good example is what happened at Eldorado
mine in Chinhoyi where a shaft collapsed and killed more than 12 artisanal miners. These
incidences are caused by lack of management concern on health and safety issues of

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employees. . Most organizations in Zimbabwe do not invest in protective clothing and
equipment and employees are exposed to accidents. This brings about lower effort, lower job
satisfaction and lower organizational commitment as the resultant outcome. However some
companies in Zimbabwe adapt some procedural justice as they hear out their employees on
job safety such companies include Delta Beverages where each employee is provided with
Personal Protective Equipment and the same punishment that one receives if not putting on it
applies to every member not based on ranks but on the company policy. If this happens every
employee is fully committed to their task and provide the best efforts since the policy (of
punishment applies to everyone). Hence the model is somehow applicable to some
Zimbabwean organizations. There are rare cases of such incidences in developed countries
and if it happens there are penalties which may even lead to closure of the mine.

Work space and equipment

It is common knowledge that happy workers translate into better workers if they are
susceptible to a comfortable work environment based on decision they are involved in
making. A conducive work space is one that is said to be clean and visually appealing which
can have a great impact on workforce performance and mood. The psychological contract
violation model is not applicable in a developing country like Zimbabwe because the
conditions most companies are offering say otherwise to what is perceived as a conclusive
work environment. There is also issues to do with substandard equipment that do not meet
modern day production methods and causes stress to employees due to their difficulty to
operate. Under serviced and unrepaired equipment which repeatedly malfunction causing
production bottlenecks also contribute to a strained morale to employees. In contrast,
employees may deliberately damage equipment, spill and spoil the work space with dirt due
to the low organisational citizenship which makes it hard to apply the psychological violation
model in Zimbabwean organisations. Based on the current harsh economic conditions, it has
resulted in high cases of pilferages at workplace thus contradicting the applicability of the
model. On the other hand some of the organizations in Zimbabwe service the equipment so as
to keep the company at pace thus keeping the employees happy providing the best effort,
examples include maintenance of equipment by ZIMPLATS. Another example is that of
Parirenyatwa hospital equipment which under supply because of the economic hardships and
due to this employees are not even satisfied with their job and organizational commitment is
low because of this situation. In developed countries because competition is stiff each
trading day companies strive to improve and maintain the workplace and equipment used by

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different employees. These employees are fully committed to the organization and they are
happy with how either the heavy trucks, forklifts or trailers are being maintained, making
them enjoy their work. An example is that of ZIMBULK and Shoprite in South Africa where
maintenance is done continuously.

Promotion at workplace

Once the organization is ready to make promotional decisions, issues of procedural justice
will again arise. The organization should ensure that these procedures are fair before
implementing them to make promotional decisions. These decisions basing on the rules of the
procedural justice should be more transparent to the employees, not biased and also ethical as
this would allow both new recruits and old recruits do perceive issues more positive thus
employees’ perceptions of these procedures must also be managed. Again, this can be done
by allowing employees to voice their opinions about how promotional decisions should be
made within the organization. Procedural justice may be especially important when these
types of decisions are made because the organization cannot promote a large number of
employees, particularly in organizations with a flat hierarchical structure. Thus, there will
generally be many employees who are not promoted at any given time. If not promoted,
employees who view the procedures used to make these decisions as fair will most likely
perceive their unfavourable outcome as fairer than they would have if the procedures had
been unjust. In Zimbabwe certain organisation such as Telecel and Netone exercise
procedural justice as they allow their employees to make promotional decisions, that is the
process and the procedures that are followed for one to be promoted to being either a
manager or have an improved rank. Employees are then fully committed to the organization
(employer), trust and believe in the organisation as the decision made would be transparent,
and this would result in even new recruits to work hard to get the promotion at the right time.
However some small organizations in Zimbabwe have procedural injustice as they tend to
promote employees based on background, friendship status and relative relationships. These
organizations often crumble and lose a lot of their employees due to low organisational
citizenship, low morale that leads to intentional mistakes at work leading to low productivity,
making the model somehow inapplicable in Zimbabwe . In developed countries the model
applies since the procedures are well known for example in football clubs the issue of
captaincy is based on performance and good behaviour hence some football clubs exercise
that for example Manchester United FC, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. The players

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(employees) would have more effort towards achieving their goals since the decision would
be just and fair thus making the model more applicable in developed countries.

Job/employment security

Recent economic recessions, competitive pressure and a drastic increase in restructuring

activities have had a global impact on organizations, which are increasingly using downsizing
and mass layoffs in response to economically difficult circumstances. These have highly
affected Zimbabwean organization in the previous years. Also the acquiring of new
machinery, for example self-operating machines has led to an increase in loss of jobs and a
threat for job security. It has been discovered that procedural injustice occurs if the
organization tends to retrench or fire workers from their jobs unexpectedly, which in the end
acts as a threat for the existing employee’s job security. In the end when this happens the
employees would have low organizational citizenship behaviour because they would not
know what would happen next and some would intend to leave the organization in pursuit for
organization who provides job security for them, leading to high labour turnover. More so,
the context of perception of job insecurity, workers closely observe organizational actions
and the treatment that laid-off workers receive. These signals are important references on
how workers that stay in the organization can be treated in the future. Particularly, there are
six key elements in the theory of procedural fairness that are more valuable in a job insecurity
context, i.e., those decisions are consistent, unbiased, accurate, correctable and ethical. In
Zimbabwean organization bias exist in the cases of lay-offs for example in 2015 loads of
companies exercised this which include Zuva Petroleum, Econet, GMB, and by so doing this
reduced the OCB (organizational citizenship behaviour) of the employees and this hinders the
applicability of the model. However in developed countries such as China the model is
applicable as it tends to abide fairly or the procedures it takes when downsizing the
employees, and they do this in a manner that leaves the existing employees feeling wanted by
the organization.

Training and development

This is also another aspect of procedural justice that makes an organization more productive,
motivate the workforce and experience a low labour turnover rate. As individuals enter the
workplace, their employment choices tend to ideally support their career goals. While a
number of factors affect these decisions, the impression that an organization gives to potential
employees will influence the likelihood that these individuals will pursue a career with that

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organization. An organization would have to make it clear on how these procedures work that
is, who gets the training, why receiving it and what makes that happens for one to receive
such special training. For instance, information regarding developmental opportunities and
possible career moves should be made available to all employees so as to enhance
perceptions of procedural justice. Special consideration should be given to employees whose
skills may quickly become obsolete. The organization should ensure that these employees
have access to developmental activities that will update these skills or teach skills that will be
needed in the future. This is especially important if the organization anticipates laying off
employees. When an organization makes a good faith effort to develop and prepare its
employees for future work, even if these employees will eventually leave the organization for
one reason or another, several positive things can happen. For example, employees who are
laid off will react more favourably to their negative outcome, be less likely to pursue
discrimination-claiming litigation against the organization, and be more likely to speak
favourably of the organization. This also enhances the reputation of the organization as a
positive place to work, which can serve as a powerful recruiting tool. Besides it being a
powerful recruiting tool it makes new employees stay at the workplace if they realize that the
procedures of training are done in an unbiased manner.

Based on the above information Delta Lagers one of the leading beer companies in
Zimbabwe engages in such activities to its sales reps as it allows them to attend work related
development programs, as a result both the attitude and behavioural needs of the employee
are satisfied. It also engages in training programs to its employees on SAP and FLO software
which make the employees execute more effort and commitment assisted by the training one
would have done, making the model applicable to some Zimbabwean organizations. This
however does not apply to all Zimbabwean organization since they do not engage in these
training facilities which then in the end influence subsequent attitudes and behaviour, and it is
difficult for the organization to change employees’ negative impressions once they are set.
These occur when procedural injustice occurs in a case that employees of the same level get
different training programs as a result of nepotism or lack of adequate finance such
companies include NRZ. On the other hand in developed countries such instances are rare in
which employees do not receive adequate training and development programs, and in the end
that is why the European organizations are ahead on both technology and performance since
the employees are well ahead and offering the best effort, work commitment and not cynical
about self-interests. An example of such eastern organisation that aimed at training its

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employees in a more transparent manner in 2010 was The New Orleans Police Department
based in the USA and this is evident that employees are a great deal.

Interactional justice issues

This involves the appropriate treatment of employees by the authorities, it also involves the
treatment of an employee with dignity, courtesy and respect, and the sharing of relevant
information to the employees is present. (Colquitt, 2001). Also Interactional Justice is defined
by sociologist John R. Schermerhorn as the degree to which the people affected by decision
are treated by dignity and respect. Informational and interpersonal justices are two sub
components of the system. Informational and interpersonal justices are two sub components
of the system. The interactional justice deals with how a person is treated when executing
procedures and determining outcomes (Sam Fricchione, 2006). The informational justice
deals with the explanations provided to people that convey information about why procedures
were used in a certain way or why outcomes were distributed in a certain fashion (Sam
Fricchione, 2006). This is not just determining how managers treat their team members; it can
also relate to how co-workers and colleagues interact with each other. Establishing standards
of conduct is critical to ensuring a high level of respect is shown to employees and to ensure
the organization is regarded as a fair and safe workplace. On the aspect between the manager
(employer) and employee interactional justice exist when, on as a leader interacts with
employees, interactional justice pertains to the behaviour of the leaders and managers as they
execute their decisions and authority. As a manager, a person is responsible to create a
positive, productive work environment. This requires interacting in an honest, fair, and
respectful way with employees. When managers effectively exercise interactional justice,
based on interpersonal justice they are open, consistent, fair respectful, motivating, offer
encouragement to their employees. For example, when a manager is exercising interactional
justice, she or he will promote an employee based on experience, merit, and performance. For
example this justice exist to companies like ZETDC, Econet, Zimbabwe football team
whereby in all cases an employee is provided with rewards based on the experience one has
on the organization. The perceived knowledge of every individual is regarded as being
important by the superior by the above mentioned organization.

More so as discussed interactional justice involves informational justice showcases the

transparency in the procedures adopted to achieve certain decision or outcome. In Zimbabwe

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organisation provide employees with employees as to why certain employees have been
promoted such organisation involve Swift and Delta Lagers provide information as to the
reason for some employee promotion with the provision of such information it leads to job
satisfaction, organizational commitment (loyalty), pay satisfaction(based on job requirement)
and reward satisfaction.

However if a manager promotes someone because she or he is a friend, family member, or

can help the manager personally, that behaviour is a direct violation of interactional justice.
This highly affects a lot of employees in Zimbabwe as it tends to the fact that interactional
injustice exist in some of the organizations. Nepotism usually exist in the Zimbabwean
industry as relatives or friends are promoted to higher ranks or recruited and by these
happening the employer loses trust from the employees as they feel that they are not being
considered and when this happens job satisfaction is low and it results in lower organizational
citizenship. An example of such companies includes ZIMRA and ZINARA. Basing on the
informative part some companies are not transparent in the way the decision of either pay
period or promotions are made and when this happens the employees perceive that
information is unequally passed on, and by this it results in some if not all employees
developing a negative attitude (low effort) towards the organization which results in the
organization being unproductive. Examples of such in Zimbabwe include Econet and GMB it
disrespected some of its employees by retrenching them and by so doing employee trust is
reduced. The applicability of the model is hardly applicable due to the economic down turns
of the country. In developed countries this model is applicable since the economy and
political status is stable which makes it easy for employees to achieve all behavioural and
attitude outcomes such as job satisfaction, high effort, commitment and low cynicism because
employers respect their employees opinions and provide reasons as to why certain procedures
are followed in decision making. An example is that of FC Barcelona where players are
treated with respect based on the tactics one suggest the club to use, and are provided with
information as to what is looked into for one to be the club captain.

Conclusion

In conclusion the psychological violation model does not apply in Zimbabwe since the 3
distinct organizational justice issues are not met by most of the organization due to the harsh
economic and political situation, thus resulting in job dissatisfaction, low organizational

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citizenship which then leads to decreased performance. However in developed countries it is
applicable due to all market forces being stable.

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QUESTION 21:

Human Resources Management have been argued as the case of simply putting new wine in
an old bottle. Discuss the above statement using appropriate examples.

INTRODUCTION

Human resources management is a case of simply putting new wine in an old bottle
specifically because of critical differences in approaches between human resources
management (HRM) and traditional personnel management(TPM).Some of the differences
include HRM views employees as assets whereas TPM views employees as tools, HRM is
proactive whereas TPM is reactive and among others. However to a lesser extent HRM is not
just a case of putting new wine in an old bottle, they are a few similarities between TPM and
HRM and these are going to be explained in the essay below.

DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS:

Human Resources Management.

Human Resources Management is that specialized and organized branch of management

which is concerned with the acquisition, maintenance, development, utilization and
coordination of people at work, in such a manner that they will give their best to the
enterprise. It refers to a systematic function of planning for the human resource needs and
demands, selection, training, compensation, and performance appraisal, to meet those
requirements.

Personnel Management

Personnel Management is a part of management that deals with the recruitment, hiring,
staffing, development, and compensation of the workforce and their relation with the
organization to achieve the organizational objectives.

Scope and Orientation.

Beer et al (1984) states out that HRM views employees as assets whereas TPM views
employees as tools.The main difference between Human Resources Management and
Personnel Management lies in their scope and orientation. HRM has a wider scope and it

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considers employees as the asset to the organisation as well as promoting mutuality in terms
of goals, reward and responsibility so as to enhance the economic performance and high
levels of human resource development whilst the scope of personnel management is limited
and has an inverted approach, wherein workers are viewed as tools. With TPM, the
behaviour of the workers can be manipulated as per the core competencies of the organisation
and are replaced when they are worn-out. For example in many Chinese companies in
Zimbabwe they make use of TPM a notable example of **** whereas HRM view employees
as assets for example at Delta Beverages, they usually train and develop its employees
through workshops and conferences. It also sends its drivers to training such as defensive
driving courses so as to improve their expertise. Such difference clearly shows that HRM and
TPM are different.

Difference in Nature

HRM constantly looks at the future and it incorporates and develops personnel management
tasks, while seeking to create and develop teams of workers for the benefit of the
organization, it remains integrated with corporate strategy and takes a proactive approach to
align the workforce toward achievement of corporate goals. TPM includes administrative
tasks that are both traditional and routine and can be described as reactive, providing a
response to demands and concerns as they are presented. Personnel management remains
aloof from core organizational activities, functions independently, and takes a reactive
approach to changes in corporate goals or strategy. For instance, while the personnel
management approach concerns itself with a reactive performance appraisal process, human
resource management approach has a more comprehensive and proactive performance
management system that aims to correct performance rather than make a report card of past
performance. For an example in Kadoma (Battlefields mine) several people lost their lives to
floods due to a reactive approach by the mine administration which tends to focus more on
personnel management rather than human resource management.

Contract of employment

In addition, HRM focuses on one-time life-long contract where working hours , terms and
conditions are seen as less rigid thereby encouraging employees to choose various ways to

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contribute their working in. It has also created flexi-working hours, working from home
policies and open contract system that is being practised by some multi-national companies
such as Motorola and Siemens. TPM focuses on short-term contracts that are so rigid that it
leaves no room for changes and modification and no compromises on written contracts that
stimulate rules, regulations, job and obligations. Employees’ contract of employment is
clearly written and employees must observe strictly the agreed employment contract.

Leadership and management role

Furthermore, HRM creates transformational leaders. This style of leadership encourages

business objectives to be shared by both management and employees. The leaders only focus
more on people-oriented and importance on rules, regulations and procedures are eliminated
and replaced with trust and flexibility, shared vision, corporate culture and missions as well
as HRM needs that integrate business needs. TPM focuses much on transactional leadership
style. This leadership style merely sees the leader as a task-oriented person. The leader
emphasises much on the procedures that must be followed, put figures and task
accomplishments ahead of human factors which include trust, understanding, interpersonal
relationship, care and tolerance. For instance workers at triangle hippo valley sugar cane
plantation adopts the TPM structure whereby they are given specific targets by their
foreman without any room for discussion on the scope of work.

Difference in Application

Another key distinction between the two is that HRM gives greater thrust on dealing with
each employee independently and gives more importance to customer-focused developmental
activities and facilitating individual employees rather than bargaining or negotiating with
trade unions. On the other hand, TPM strives to reconcile the aspirations and views of the
workforce with management interest by institutional means such as collective bargaining,
trade union-based negotiations and similar processes. This leads to fixation of work
conditions applicable for all, and not necessarily aligned to overall corporate goals. Personnel
management is an independent staff function of an organization, with little involvement from
line managers, and no linkage to the organization's core process. Human resource
management, on the other hand, remains integrated with the organization's core strategy and

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functions. Although a distinct human resource department carries out much of the human
resource management tasks, human resource initiatives involve the line management and
operations staff heavily.

However, it will be a miscarriage of justice for one not to mention that HRM is not just a case
of putting new wine into an older bottle because the similarities between HRM and TPM.
Some of the similarities include that there is evidence of the same range of activities in both
TPM and HRM for example, recruitment and selection, reward management, training and
also employee relations. This shows a strong bond between the two since the same activities
that were done by the traditional personnel manager are more or less the same with those
being done by the Human resources manager. It is therefore reasonable to acknowledge the
two as being related but, as Herbert Spencer’s puts it “ Survival of the fittest”, it’s a only a
matter of the two dominating in different ages.

In addition, another factor which supports the notion that TPM and HRM are similar is that
they both aim at developing people to achieve their maximum level of competence for both
their own satisfaction and to facilitate the achievement of organizational objectives. They all
agree that there is need of behavioural science skills such as motivation, reward to system
which is important for the wellbeing of the employees and organisation at large. Dyer and
Reeves (1995), posit that, since employee performance is a function of both ability and
motivation, it makes sense to have practices aimed at (Kochan, 1993)enhancing both. Both
concepts aim at getting more from employees and at the same time ensuring that they gain
satisfaction.

In a nutshell, it is clear from the above paragraphs that HRM denotes a shift of focus and
strategy and is in tune with the need of the modern organisation. HRM concentrates on the
planning, monitoring and control aspects of resources whereas TPM was largely about
mediating between the management and employees. Many experts view Personnel
Management as being workforce centred whereas HRM is resource centred. In conclusion,
the differences between these two terms have to be viewed through the prism of people
management through the times and in context of the industry that is being studied. However,
other companies are still adopting TPM system for example Selby enterprises, they do not
offer sick leave pay and they view their workers as machines.

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QUESTION 28:

The Supreme Court ruling has had effects on various social groups in the country.

a) Citing relevant examples discuss the implications of Supreme Court judgement on

termination of employment on notice of 17 July 2015 to employees and employers.
b) Comment on the relevance of the Labour Act, section 12 which was used to terminate the
employment on notice.
c) Evaluate the Labour Amendment No 5 of 2015 as a result of the Supreme Court
judgement of 17 July 2015 in relation to the social partners.

Implications to the employees

Low morale amongst employees because of job insecurity

Abraham Maslow in writing on motivation in ‘A Theory of Human Motivation’ came up with

the widely recognized theory of Hierarchy of needs in which he tried to elucidate on the point
that workers for them to be motivated intrinsically there is need to satisfy their security needs.
As such the court ruling brought about in the Zuva case had its consequences as it affected
the motivation of workers. As such the development undermined worker morals at almost in
all organization. This is because the end of it threatens job security of individuals. This is
reported on Reuters of 16 August 2015 ‘More job loss to come’ as it was reported that “More
than 20,000 workers have lost their jobs due to the Supreme Court ruling and as a union we
are worried that if the situation is not urgently addressed more workers will continue to lose
their jobs,” Moyo told Reuters. Such uncertainties increased employee’s confidence amongst
workers.

Exploitation of employees

The Supreme Court judgment paved way for the employer to easily exploit employees.
Employees no longer had the voice to speak out their grievances and apply their rights to the
employer due to the fear of dismissal. Some employees would work for unpaid overtime and
out of scope duties without complaining. Workers from various organizations were dismissed
on daily basis and surviving a day at work would mean a lot to them since they would not
know if they would be able to spend the day tomorrow at work or rather at home for good.

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This increased employer’s power over employees since any form of law was scary for the
employees to bring in front of the employer.

Medical challenges

Supreme Court judgement on termination of employment on notice resulted in many medical

challenges of the workers who were affected by this judgement. According to the NewsDay
newspaper article by Tinotenda Samukange on July 30, 2015, the Community Working
Group on Health (CWGH) has said the abrupt termination of employment which has left
thousands of people without jobs will seriously affect the health of the affected people and
their families as most of them will not be able to continue on medical aid. According to
Silence Charumbira the CWGH executive director Itai Rusike said massive lay-offs without
any financial packages or psychological support system were likely to trigger serious health
consequences, in addition to limiting access of the affected workers and their dependants to
health services. Among those that have been offloaded were people with chronic illnesses
such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension and HIV, and they stood to automatically lose their
medical aid cover as they were rendered incapable of paying for monthly subscriptions.

In relation to the above, with no warning to having their source of income abruptly cut, there
has been no time for them to make alternative arrangements among the myriad of things they
must adjust to. Laid-off workers on anti-retroviral therapy (ART) were not able to access the
quality health services they used to enjoy, a development that resulted in serious health
complications or even death. Also, abrupt loss of income compromised adherence to
medication for workers and dependants on chronic care, including those on ART, as some of
them were forced to relocate to their rural homes where their changed circumstances limited
their travel to places where they used to get their allocations.

Stress and anxiety on workers

Unexpected retrenchment is known to negatively affect a person’s confidence, self-worth and

self-esteem. Those that have lost their jobs may experience difficulties in adjusting to a new
and unfamiliar situation of redundancy, and it can severely affect a person’s mental health
causing depression, stress and anxiety. Affected families would drop out of school
completely due to the changed financial circumstances, thereby shattering their hopes for a
better future.

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Implications to the employer

Cost cutting technique

The Supreme Court ruling led employers to reduce costs through the dismissal of employees
on three months on notice. Before the Supreme Court ruling employees where protected by
the labor act and contract termination of employees was not easy for companies. Employers
were incurring high costs in remunerations and salaries which led them to operate below
capacity because nearly all profit were going towards salaries and expenses of the company.
The Supreme Court ruling reduced cost of terminating of contract allowing companies to
retrench some of their workers which were considered not productive to their organization for
example Unilever Zimbabwe a multi-national company sacked 186 employees in early
August 2015, using the Supreme Court ruling. This means that they were reduction of cost on
employing unproductive workers into the organization. Furthermore, Econet Wireless
reduced its costs by $70 million through cutting of salaries and wages of their employees
among other things in order to reduce their wage bill. This Supreme Court judgment act will
give rise to a reduction in labour costs as the retrenchment packages are to be removed. This
will go in favour of employers in the long run as they can dedicate the funds saved to finance
other long term projects.

Created bad reputation to the companies involved

The Labour Amendment Act empowered employers to dismiss an employee by giving three
months’ notice without need to justify. The Supreme Court ruling resulted in many
employees losing their jobs, this led to bad reputation of the organizations that were firing
workers. According to D. Zhenyu (Journal of Business and Management 2015) ‘the statistics
showed that over 30 000 had lost employment by end of August 2015’ since the employers
took advantage of the Supreme Court judgment. This ruling posed fear and insecurity to the
employees; even the unemployed were demotivated to join such companies because of lack
of job security hence organizations lost skilled staff. This posed a negative impact on the
organizations’ corporate image since this affects a lot of employee’s living standards and
their dependence.

Implications to the government

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Reduction in revenue - dismissal of tax payer

Supreme Court judgment resulted in loss of revenue to the government since the tax payers
were dismissed. Tax revenue is the income that is gained by governments through taxation of
various groups. Taxation is the primary source of income for a state. Revenue may be
extracted from sources such as individuals, public enterprises, trade and royalties on natural
resources and foreign aid. The ability to collect taxes is central to a country’s capacity to
finance social services such as health and education, critical infrastructure such as electricity
and roads, and other public goods. After the mass dismissal of employees in various
companies meant a reduction in tax income from employees such as PAYE (pay as you earn).
After the Supreme Court ruling, many people lost their jobs. “Zimind Publishers (Pvt) Ltd,
fired 75 workers on August 20, 2015 following the Supreme Court ruling of 17 July,”
by Fidelis Munyoro and Tendai Rupapa 16 MAR, 2017 The Herald

Implications to trade unions

It reduces the bargaining power of Trade Unions

The amended Labour Act 28.01 of number 5 of 2015 seems to have done more harm than
good to both Trade Unions and the employees. The right and power of Trade Unions to stand
for the welfare of employees was reduced. For instance, it is mentioned in the Act that,
“Trade Unions expected that the retrenched workers would get better packages but to no
avail.” This implies that there was injustice in the Supreme Court ruling of 17 July 2015 since
it was used by most employers for their selfish and inconsiderate needs which culminated in
loss of jobs for more than 35 000 workers within 11 weeks as at 30 September 2015.

Massive loss of jobs

With the supreme court judgment ruling, reports as noted by (Herald 2015), 18 000 workers
have been fired in less than three weeks after a landmark ruling by the Supreme Court in a
case between Zuva Petroleum and its former managers. The effect of the ruling is that
employers were retrenched and were not provided with benefit. In addition to that, five
parastatals sent thousands of their workers home, citing the court ruling. These include
National Railways of Zimbabwe (350 workers), Zimbabwe National Roads Administration
(309), Air Zimbabwe (100), CMED (200) and Grain Marketing Board (400). Part of the

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termination letter sent to GMB workers read: “The GMB has decided to exercise its right in
terms of the common law to terminate your contract of employment with GMB on three
months’ notice. Consequently, you are no longer required to come to work with effect from
August 5 2015.” This implies that the Supreme Court ruling practically had a negative effect
which leads to loss of jobs to the majority of employees.

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QUESTION 12:

Explain in detail giving practical examples of the following job evaluation systems used in
Zimbabwe:

a) Castellian Systems
b) Paterson System or Decision Board System or Method (DBM)
c) Peromnes System
d) The Questionnaire System
e) Hay Guide Chart Profile System
f) ZIMPLEST System

Introduction

Evaluation in human resource management has created many procedures to ensure an

organized workforce such as job enlargement. Cushway (2003) defined job evaluation as a
process for judging the relative size of importance of the job within an organization. Job
evaluation is concerned with relationships not absolutes. It cannot measure in definitive terms
the inherent value of a job to the organization. It is essentially a comparative process,
comparisons against defined standards or comparisons of which a common criterion or factor
is present in different jobs.

CASTELLION SYSTEM

According to “Salaman G and Storey J (1998)” stated that the system can be used in all jobs
within an organization and it has the further advantage that the complexity level of jobs can
be compared across the different organizations and industries .This method is mostly applied
by the public sector for example state universities, local authorities and parastatals in
Zimbabwe. Castellion system derived its name from a combination of the Castle and Lion
beer bands and was first developed by South African Breweries. It was introduced into
Zimbabwe by the Rhodesian Breweries in the early seventies and is presently used by many
industrial, commercial and parastatal organisations. Castellion is a point-system which
evaluates jobs on the basis of six factors namely:

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 I. Decision making: the exercise of making a choice between alternative courses of
action.
II. Pressure of work: the volume of work and the pressure under which decisions have to
be made.
III. Controls and checks: both direct and indirect controls applied to the activities of
incumbent.
IV. Consequence of error: possibility of losses which may result from wrong decisions or
lack of vigilance.
V. Education: level of education required to perform the duties of the job.
VI. Experience: the maximum period needed for a person with the required education to
perform the duties of the job.

Factors 1 and 3-5 are allocated marks according to the complexity level of the factors, with
the simplest levels being awarded the least marks. Factors 2 and 6 are coefficients which in
each case are multiplied by preceding factor to obtain a score. Once points have been
allocated to the six factors, a total score is obtained and the job is graded by slotting it into
one of the 16 grades in the system. Grade 1 is the highest and grade 16 is the lowest.

PATERSON OR DIVISION BOARD SYSTEM

Guest, (1989) stated that Paterson decision band method is a system of job evaluation based
on the method of job classification. It is mainly used by private sectors in Zimbabwe but
some public organisations also uses it. The method was developed by Professor T Paterson in
Scotland as an alternative for the time consuming point systems which at that stage,
considered a large numbers of factors. His research led him to the conclusion that a single
factor, namely decision making occurred in all jobs and that this was sufficient to distinguish
job levels.

According to the Paterson system, all jobs can be grouped in six decision making bands based
on level of complexity of the decisions job incumbents are required to make. The levels range
from the completely defined decisions of band A to complex policy forming decisions in
band F. Thereafter the decision making bands are subdivided according to a coordinating
factor.

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The Paterson system is used in various overseas countries as well as in many South African
organisations. It is a simple system that is easy to understand and implement. In addition it is
cost effective and internationally recognised. The most important disadvantages associated
with it are:

 On one factor is used to evaluate all jobs

 There is a lack of uniformity of procedures for interpreting and applying sub grades.
 Problems are experienced in grading complex management hierarchies.

The Advantages of the Paterson System

The Paterson system is simple, both as regards implementation and general understanding.
This ensures that both workforce can understand it and participate meaningfully in its
implementation.

The Paterson system is flexible in the sense that it can be applied to all the jobs in the
company from bottom to the top.

Decision Bands Nature of Decisions

Band F Policy making decisions made by top management

Band E Programming decisions made by senior management

Band D Interpretive decisions made by middle management

Band C Routine or process decisions

Band B Automatic or operative decisions

Band A Defined or Elemental decisions

PEROMNES SYSTEM

The Peromnes system was developed for SA Breweries by Professor Simon Biesheuvel as a
simplified version of the Castellion method. For example in Zimbabwe, National Foods Ltd

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 requires people who have education, knowledge, understanding and experience to operate
large machineries and equipment. The system was later taken over by FSA which now has
the sole right to market it in South Africa. DeCenzo, D. & Robbins P. (1996) stated that
Peromnes system is based on the mark allocation method and evaluates jobs on the basis of
eight factors of which the first six are job content factors and the remaining two are job
requirement factors. The eight factors entail the following:

I. Problem Solving
The nature and complexity of decision making processes including decision making
processes required in the formulation of recommendations.
II. Consequences of judgements
The consequences of firm decisions on the organisation or any of its components after
considering control measures that may exist to hinder the implementation of judgements
especially measures that are detrimental
III. Work pressures
Pressure that is inherent to a job as reflected in the variety and type of work that must be
completed within the available time. This also refers to the need to determine priorities in
an effective manner as well as the interruptions and disturbances as a result of interactions
with other jobs.
IV. Knowledge
The level of knowledge that is required in terms of operational qualifications that are
necessary to do effectively the tasks associated with the job.
V. Impact of the job
The degree of influence that the job has on other activities inside and outside the
organisation.
VI. Understanding
The level of understanding of written and spoken communication that is continually
required during normal performance of tasks
VII. Educational qualification needed for the job
The minimum qualification necessary must be taken into consideration and not the
desired qualifications.
VIII. Training or experience needed
The time needed to acquire the necessary competence required by the job using the
shortest possible reasonable route.

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All eight factors are requirements of a job and characteristics such as physical working
conditions are excluded as these can vary from place to place and from time to time.

Advantages of Peromnes System

It makes provision for external comparison. This implies that a job with a particular grade in
one organisation has the same intrinsic value as a job with the same grade in any other
organisation.

Disadvantages of Peromnes System

The fact that formal written job descriptions are not used detrimentally affects the quality of
the description of job content that must be evaluated.

As a result of the fact that the evaluation process is unstructured, appropriate information is
not gathered in a systematic manner and there is no formal manual, there is often a lack of
information that can lead to subjectivity.

There are nineteen grades in the Peromnes system of which one is the highest. Each grade
covers a range of values on the scale. The meaning of grades is shown in the following table:

Grades Description

1-3 Top management, most senior professionals and specialists

4-6 Senior management, high level professionals and specialists

7-9 Middle management, superintendents and low level professionals

10-12 Supervisors, high level skilled workers and clerical personnel

13-16 low level labourers and clerical personnel

17-19 less skilled and unskilled workers

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The Peromnes system does not use job descriptions during the evaluation process which
makes it unique in this sense. Information about key aspects of the job that must be evaluated
is provided by a number of specialists with in-depth knowledge of the job on the panel of
reviewers.

QUESTIONNAIRE SYSTEM

Beach D (1980) defined questionnaire as a set of questions for obtaining statistically useful or
personal information from individuals. It is designed so that employees can describe their job
functions clearly and accurately. For example in Zimbabwe, Econet Wireless Company uses
the questionnaire system in their interviews. Questionnaires focuses on the requirements of
the rather than employee performance or qualifications. It uses four factors that are decision
making, control and checks, contacts with people and education and experience. Its
advantage is that it is simple to use and understand and can be applied to all jobs in the
organisation.

Types of Questionnaires

Closed Formats

These are multiple questions where respondents are restricted to choose among any of the
given multiple choice answers.

Open Formats

It is whereby a responded is given an opportunity to express their opinions in a free flowing

manner.

HAY GUIDE CHART PROFILE SYSTEM

This is an analytic system based on analysing each job in terms of three criterial know how,
problem solving and accountability. Armstrong M (1996) stated that the method flows from
the concept that all jobs are required to make a contribution to the achievement of results, this
is accountability of the job. This method was developed in the early fifties by the Hay group

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of consultants in Philadelphia in USA. The system is currently used by more than 40 000
companies and organisations in approximately thirty countries. The hay guide system
measures three factors that involves:

 Knowledge
The sum of every type of skill that is necessary for acceptable performance.
 Problem Solving
This entails that the reasoning ability required by the job to solve problems, it includes
evaluation, reasoning and reaching conclusions.
 Accountability
Accountability for actions and resulting consequences of these form the bases of this
factor.

Each of the three above mentioned factors is measured as a matrix and the evaluation of these
factors in a particular job is done in the light of a complex quantitative system. Points for
each factor are derived from guide cards that are developed for different organisations and a
profile of the particular job being evaluated is put together.

Hay Guide Chart Profile System

Proportionately accountability, know how and problem solving

1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

ZIMPLEST SYSTEM

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ZIMPLEST System was originated in Zimbabwe in the 1960s by Bob Martins. It is also
known as the Bob Martin System. Drucker, P. (1955) argued that the system uses job
specification rather than job description. For example in Zimbabwe, Delta Beverages requires
people who have knowledge and skills to operate high mechanised machineries.

Factors assessed by ZIMPLEST System

Education

The minimum qualifications necessary must be taken into consideration and not the desired
qualification.

Training and Experience

The time needed to acquire the necessary competence required by the job using the shortest
possible reasonable route.

Job knowledge and skills

The level of knowledge that is required in terms of operational qualifications not formal
qualifications that are necessary to do effectively the tasks associated with the job.

Decision and problems

The nature and complexity of decision making processes, including decision making
processes required in the formulation of recommendations.

CONCLUSION

Job evaluation is part of the organisation’s human resource planning process. Once the
overall strategy and objectives have been determined and the structure has been developed,
the next step is to establish the required level of human resources that is to get the right
people with the right skills in the right place at the right time. This in turn means having
effective selection process and all the necessary system to ensure the retention and motivation
of staff. The above insight explore the steps of the job evaluation process as well as in depth
about the following job evaluation systems that include ZIMPLEST, Paterson, Castellion,
Hay Guide and Peromnes.

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QUESTION 8:

Discuss and evaluate the mechanism provided for by Labour Relations ACT 28:01 to
accommodate strike.

As suggested by John Grogan (2010), strike is work stoppage undertaken in support of a

bargaining position or in protest of some aspect of a previous agreement or proposed
agreement between labour and management. An example of a strike that happened in
Zimbabwe – Workers at tobacco processor and exporter Mashonaland Tobacco Company
(MTC) downed their tools in protest over a decision by management to unilaterally scrap
transport allowances.

Strike just like boycott and lockout is a form of industrial action calculated to persuade a
party to an employment relationship to accede to a demand related to employment (Patrick
Lloyd 2006). Because of the harm associated with collective job action not all sector of the
labour force are permitted to call for industrial action. Among such labour force are all the
members of the public sector in Zimbabwe as permitted by the labor laws of this country.
This is due to the critically of the services provided by these workers. Such workers are not
permitted by law to perform collective job action include the police, army, healthy personnel
and those in fire service among others. Members of a workers committee and employees can
go for a strike due to some of the listed factors below:

 Disagreements over wage and salary percentage increases.

 Management style for example perceived choice of language by the management,
differential treatment and misuse of resources, lack of consultation and managerial
incompetence.
 Grade, salary and allowance disparities between the workers
 Nonpayment and delays in payment of salaries, allowances and terminal benefits.
 Breach of promise by the management to act in a specified period of time and
hence fails to do so.

The labour relations act 28:01 stipulates that all employees, workers committee intending to
go on strike must have disputes of interest, workers shall not resort to striking unless fourteen
days written notice of intent has been approved. Strikes are to be conducted after a secret
ballot of which 51% of employees agree to it. Employees are allowed to conduct a picket at

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the work place. Collective job action cannot be resorted to: by employees engaged in
essential services. It also stipulates that disputes must have been referred to conciliation and a
certificate of number settlement must be issued by the conciliator.

Fourteen days written notice to be given to employer, employment council and trade
union

Subject to subsection (4) of section 104, no collective job action may be recommended or
engaged in by— any workers committee, trade union or employer’s organization, except with
the agreement of the majority of the employees or employers, as the case may be, voting by
secret ballot.

This part of the act stipulates that no collective job action must be conducted without 51% of
the workers committee supporting the action. This act is made in the idea of protecting
employees from being used in a collective job action meant to settle personal scores or
personal gain. By virtue of attaining 51% votes of all employees it implies that everybody
knows the agenda and reason for the collective job action. The required 51% of the votes will
come from either an employee’s committee or employer’s committee depending on who is to
take the action. The concept of having a secret ballot is so as to protect the image of the
person casting the vote to avoid victimisation of the employee casting his/her vote.

Employees intending to go on strike must have a dispute of interest

Dispute is any serious disagreement between two parties for example disputes over wages
and other working conditions. Subject to the Labor Relations Act all employees, workers
committee and trade unions shall have the right to resort to collective job action to resolve
dispute of interest. Subject to subsection (4) of section 104 of the Labor Relations Act 28;01
no collective job action may be recommended or engaged in by any employee, workers
committee, trade union, employer, employers organization or federation if the issue in dispute
is a dispute of right. Dispute of right implies that the basis of an employee’s claim is vested in
a legal or contractual right. Such a right can be enforced through the civil courts as well as
the Labor Court.

There are mainly two types of disputes that is the dispute of right and the dispute of interest.
Example of disputes of right is where an employer does not pay employee the correct leave

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pay or unfair dismissals. Dispute of interest is not based on any existing right –here
employees or their unions approach the employer in order to establish a new right. If the
employer does not want to give the employees what they want and the matter remains
unsolved, then the employees may exercise their right to strike after following the appropriate
procedures as governed by the Labor Relations Act. Example of dispute of interest is when
employees want to get paid higher wages. This subsection of the labour relations act
promotes order within organizations as it clarifies that employees should not just go on strike
without a valid reason but they should have a very good reason for taking that action.

Protected from disciplinary hearing

The mechanism of the act also facilitates fair treatment between the employee and employer
as it states that it is not a crime to be involved in a lawful collective job action. The labour
Act stipulates that it shall not be a breach of contract for any workers committee, registered
trade union, registered employers’ organisation or registered federation of registered trade
unions or employers organisations to threaten, recommend or engage in a lawful collective
action, and no protected person shall be liable to any civil liability or proceedings therefore
other than as specified in this provided that such immunity from suit shall not extend to wilful
acts or omissions threatening or resulting in the destruction of, or damage to, property other
than the perishing of goods caused by employees’ absence from work on account of such
collective action. A good example is the ZESA strike of 2008 which saw none of the
employees going on a disciplinary herring after the strike.

All individual employees and officials or office-bearers of a protected person, shall be

entitled to the same immunity as is conferred upon a protected person in terms of subsection
and, in addition, his employment shall not be terminated on the ground that he has threatened,
recommended or engaged in any lawful collective action. An employer is not obliged to
remunerate an employee for services that the employee does not render during the lawful
collective action except where the employee’s remuneration includes payment in kind by way
of accommodation, the provision of food and other basic amenities of life, in which event the
employer shall not discontinue such payment in kind unless the employee declines such
remuneration

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The employer may not discipline, victimize, intimidate or dismiss employees who take
protected industrial action or who are being locked out, nor those who refuse to do the work
of another employee who is on a protected. The employer cannot claim any damages for loss
of production during the protected industrial action.

Certificate of no settlement must be issued by the conciliator

Dispute is any serious disagreement between two parties. According to section 93(7) (b)
disputes must have been referred to conciliation and a certificate of no settlement must be
issued by the conciliator. The labour Act states that where a labour officer (or designated
agent) fails to finalise a dispute within 30 days of it being referred to him or her, either of the
parties may refer the matter to the labour court. The matter should therefore have been
referred to the labour court and not to a labour officer once the 30 day limit was exceeded.

The section of the Labour Relations Act tries to promote order and mutual understandings
within organizations as it tries by all means to go through the conciliation process in order to
resolve issues. A good example is the agreement between TSL and its employees in 2015
when their dispute of salary increment was resolved through the conciliation process by an
arbitrator.

Picketing

Section 104A of the labour Act, defines picketing as means of gathering members and
supporters of trade union or workers committee for either or both for demonstrating
peacefully. Picketing is also a form of protest in which people (picketers) congregate outside
a place of work or location where an event is taking place. Picketing aims to put pressure on
the part targeted to meet particular demand or cease operations. Pressure is achieved by
harming the business through loss of customers and negative publicity, preventing workers
from entering workplace thereby preventing normal business operations. Picketing will lead
employers to recognize the issues facing employees and address through bargaining with
union. As long as it does not cause obstruction to a highway or intimidation, it is legal.

However, the Labour Relations Act 28:01, section 104 (4) states that there is no need to
follow procedures if the right to strike is in defense of worker’s committee, trade union or
responds to occupational hazard. For instance if the workers at a mine are asked to undertake

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their duties without protective clothing like hell mates or gloves, they are allowed to resort to
collective job actions right away.

In conclusion our Labor Relations Act (chapter 28:01) supports all employees, workers
committees and trade unions have the right to resort to collective job action to resolve the
dispute of interests. Conducting strike is legal in Zimbabwe when all the necessary
procedures are followed as mentioned above. Strikes must be conducted peacefully. No strike
may be recommended or engaged in by employees, workers committee, and trade union if
persons concerned are engaged in an essential service.

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QUESTION 16:

According to the VRIO Framework, which type of human resources can be a source of
competitive advantage for a firm? How can the application of VRIO transform the HR
function from being a ‘cost’ into a strategic function that contributes to the performance of
an organization?

Introduction

Given the dynamism which characterize the business environment in which businesses
operate in that is typically marked by robust competition, firms have to be highly competitive
to stay afloat. In trying to do so, they are using various models or theories and one of such is
the VRIO framework. Thus the content and context of this write up is to address the
applicability of this framework which falls under Human Resource Based View on how it
metamorphose the Human Resource function from being a cost function into a strategic
function looking at the four facets namely Value, Rareness, Imitability and Organizing. In
this assignment the writers are going to mention some of the Human Resource functions that
can strategically be malformed in order for the company to gain competitive advantage which
is the essence of the framework.

Definition of key terms

VRIO framework -It is a strategic scheme or tool that is used to analyze firm’s internal
resources and capabilities to find out if they can be a source of competitive advantage. VRIO
is initials for the four question framework asked about a resource or capability to determine
its competitive potential.

 The question of value

 The question of Rarity
 The question of imitability (Ease or Difficulty to imitate)
 The question of organization (Ability to exploit the resource or capability)

Human resource –The personnel of a business or organization, regarded as a significant

asset in terms of skills and capabilities.

Strategic function –It is an organizational plan for human resources, marketing, research and
development and other functional areas. The functional strategy of a company is customized
to a specific industry and is used to back up other corporate and business strategy.
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Competitive Advantage- is superiority gained by an organization when it can provide the
same value as its competitors but at a lower cost by providing greater value through
differentiation [www.businessdictionary.com].

VALUE

The framework suggest that for a firm to realize competitive advantage by merely looking at
value, the human resource function should be in a position that enables the firm to decrease
the cost of product/service, or by providing a unique product/service to the customer that
allows the organization to charge a premium price, or by a combination of the two as
articulated by T.Agarwala (1996). Classical examples of value created by employees are
employees at Apple Inc, Coca Cola and Microsoft. Below are various ways in which the HR
function can enhance value.

Empowerment Sharing Schemes

Human resource practices are designed to enhance employee commitment, thereby impacting
the organization’s revenues positively. Barney(1991) said, “Various schemes adopted from
Japanese Industrial Revolution which are used are empowerment programs, Kaizen methods,
total quality management approach, quality circles are some of the initiatives that are used by
organizations to increase the contribution of the employee on the bottom-line performance”.

Recruitment and selection

An organization can gain competitive advantage through the Human resource function when
the human resource personnel hire the highly productive efficient personnel that are able to
exploit opportunities. On recruitment, the human resource should hire the experienced
personnel who suit the best position because if the Human Resources Department employ
someone who is competitively fit for that position it enables the company to exploit
opportunities which will enable the organization to meet its strategically goals and objectives.
Furthermore, the HR function will be able to identify the necessary skills that are beneficial
to the organization.

Training and development

The essence of the framework is built on the basis of attaining an upper hand over rivals. The
HR function has been working tirelessly to train and invest in workers so as to ensure
employees have the right and adequate knowledge and abilities for performing key business

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processes. This is crucial especially given the dynamism of the business environment which
is marked considerably with changes in the market and technologies. This will result in
improved productivity efficiency, innovation improved customer service response and
improved quality. All this directly contribute to the organization being competitive.

Staffing
In addition to this, under human resource value, the issue of staffing is a logical extension to
what can yield positive results and competitive to the business. The Human Resources
function is contributing positively by ensuring that the ratio between employees engaged in
key processes and employees engaged in supporting processes is in favor of the first group.
Furthermore they also make sure that the number of employees corresponds to the amount of
work which should be performed such that there is no surplus or deficit of employees.

RARITY

The human resources can only be acquired by one or very few organizations are considered.
Rare and valuable human resources grant temporary competitive advantage. If the human
resources for the organization can easily found at other organization, this will be a cost to a
firm in different human resources functions of the organization such like training and
development, handling compensation, employee benefits among others. However, if the
organization’s human resources are very rare this means an organization is more strategic
hence its performance will be high.

Hiring and training the best available talent

To attain competitive advantage through people, it is important to develop and exploit rare
characteristics of the human resources of the organization. Thus, an organization should try to
ensure that it has an edge over competing organizations in terms of the skills, knowledge, and
abilities of its people. This can be achieved by hiring and training the best available talent.

Competitive Parity

The situation when more than few organizations have the same human resources or use the
capability in the similar way, leads to competitive parity hence for an organization to achieve
sustainable competitive advantage, its human resources must be uncommon. Even though
competitive parity is not the desired position, an organization should not neglect the human
resources that are valuable but common.

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IMITABILITY

Valuable and rare characteristics of a firm's human resources can provide above normal
profits for the firm in the short term. However, if other firms can imitate these characteristics,
then over time the characteristics will provide no more than competitive parity, MacDuffie,
(1995). Thus, the human resource executive must attempt to develop and nurture
characteristics of the firm's human resources that cannot easily be imitated by competitors.
This points to focusing on the importance of socially complex phenomena such as an
organization's unique history or culture in providing competitive advantage.

Training and development- apprenticeship

Training and development is one of the important tools that organizations can use to retain
staff knowledge (human capital). Training schemes such as apprenticeship is a tactic which
can be used by the human resources department to safeguard some skills and knowledge that
the organization would have acquired. For instance, Delta Corporation recruit some students
for apprenticeship training such as diesel plant fitters. This implies that knowledge which is
required in production will be disclosed to those students which will become the employees
in the production plant. Such forms of training prevents knowledge of employees to be
imitable. Knowledge that employees possess is unavailable or difficult to obtain, due to the
small number of people who possess it. “Knowledge of employees is hardly transferable
given the means of acquisition and the costs of acquiring valuable knowledge and abilities are
high and in that sense, these attributes of employees are unattainable,” (Khatri; 2000). Tacit
knowledge for example can be very hard to imitate. Management talent and excellent
motivational skills may be impossible to imitate. Today, knowledge as an intangible asset is
considered as the most valuable asset. Consequently, if we manage to integrate it in the
learning and organizational culture, it will undoubtedly increase the success of the firms thus
gaining competitive advantage.

Effective remuneration and employee welfare management

Salaries, pensions, long service awards, bonuses and other forms of remuneration goes an
extra mile in preserving skilled workforce of the organization because they motivate
employees. Once the employees are motivated, the rate of employee turnover will be reduced
since the reasons for leaving the organizations will be less. Bonuses and other rewards which

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are given for achieving a particular target can motivate employees to work more to meet the
next target thus a benefit to the organization Human resources department must work on the
remuneration and welfare of employees strictly so as to ensure that employees are always
happy and develop an intimate relationship with their organization. Employees must not find
a reason for leaving the organization to the other. Effective remuneration management
transform human resources function from being a cost into a strategic function which results
in achieving competitive advantage.

ORGANIZATION
The characteristics of human resources could become a source of competitive advantage if a
company is well organized. The organization in this sense means the establishment of
procedures and systems that enable full utilization of human resources potential. For this
purpose, company establishes certain mechanisms, which must be focused on developing
knowledge and abilities of workers and the incentives that will encourage their exploitation.
Companies must be organized in a way that encourages employees for effective and efficient
usage of other resources, which means continuous improvement of their knowledge and
abilities. If an organization implement training and development strategies this will result in
the human resources being proactive such that costs associated with mistakes or lack of
motivation are reduced.

The company that has the best system of selection, the best training program for employees,
the best reward system, will have an advantage over its competitors. However, each activity
can be relatively easy imitated and as such it can only be a temporary basis for competitive
advantage. The real challenge is to develop human resources management system that allows
the harmonious conducting of all activities of human resource management, because they
become a valuable and rare resource.

Coordination of Human Resource

The VRIO frame work emphasizes the need for an organization to be organized such that the
resource available are used efficiently and well-coordinated The coordination of resource is
done through internal workshops different employees, it means they will work towards a
common goal thus enables a company to meet strategic goals as they will a competitive
advantage.

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Emphasis on communications within the organization

Value, rarity and imitability are ineffective if the organization does not have proper
organizational structure effective communication channels. Effective communication which
cuts across all hierarchical levels allows human resources to be utilized to their full potential
as human resource is given the platform to share their views and contribute to objective of the
organization. Hence forth application of VRIO frame work will allow management &
employees to be able to communicate ways in which human resource will work in order to
fullfil the organization objectives. Informal communication, empowerment, transparent
strategy and corporate objectives, reporting on the results, an appreciation of ideas and
rewards contribute significantly to employees’ motivation and commitment, which is the key
condition for using knowledge and abilities in function of value creation (Yukl, Becker
2006). As a result it will be easy for human resources to be flexible and maintain a
competitive advantage in a dynamic environment.

Conclusion
In a broad analytical view, the VRIO framework is an effective tool in achieving competitive
advantage. It has been explained above that VRIO framework contributes a lot to human
resource function thereby upgrading it to become a strategic function. Training and
development is one of the human resource functions that can blend well with VRIO
framework to bring competitive advantage to the organization.

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QUESTION 2:

There is no right to strike in Zimbabwe. Discuss the legal position with regard to strikes in
Zimbabwe

Definition of key terms

Strike: Strike is the refusal of union members to work and is recognized as a basic union
right

Types of strikes

Economic strike

This is a strike over an economic issue such as wages, benefits and working conditions

Grievance strike

Occurs when the union does not agree with the way management handles problem e.g the
disciplining of an employee

Secondary strike

A strike in which other unions agree to work stoppage not because of action by their own
employer but to support other union members striking at other firms.

Wildcat strike
It takes place suddenly and without warning. This strike is forbidden in most countries.

Right to Strike

The right of workers to strike is probably the most controversial component of the labor law.
It raises complex questions. For instance, should the law create and protect a right to strike.
The issue of a right to strike attracts very strong and sometimes deeply emotive and
ideological views.

Justification of the right to strike

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Human right
According to Lovemore Madhuku striking is defended as a fundamental human right for
employees just like other human rights in general self-evidence right. In such a case the right
to strike ought to be part of any civilised community in the same way as the right to life,
liberty and other common human rights.

Democracy

According to Davies and Freedland 1983, “there can be no equilibrium in industrial relations
without a freedom to strike. In protecting the freedom, the law protects the legitimate
expectations of workers that they can make use of their collective power: it corresponds to
the protection of the legitimate expectation of management that it can use the right of
property for the same purpose on its side”

The equilibrium argument

This is heavily rooted in the concepts that under lie labor law. The right to strike is seen as
creating an equilibrium in labour relations. This equilibrium is seen as essential for the
establishment of a properly functioning industrial relations system. The equilibrium
facilitates collective bargaining, the latter being seen as the corner stone of the modern labor
law. According to this justification, the basic principle of modern law should be to promote
collective bargaining as a strong means to resolving the inherent conflict between labour and
capital while at the same time preserving an efficient capitalist system. The justification for
the right to strike largely shapes the nature and extent of protection given by the law. For
example the equilibrium argument as the basis of law of strikes, makes purely political strikes
illegal in the UK and the US, as these are not functional to collective bargaining (Brassey et
al 1987).

The South African constitution does not protect political strikes as it only grants the right to
strike for the purpose of collective bargaining. According to Halbach et al 1992, in Germany,
“the aim of strikes must be the conclusion of a collective agreement. If they are called to
achieve goals that cannot be covered in a collective agreement, they are illegal. This applies
to political strikes...”

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In Italy the constitution grants a right to strike on the justification of fundamental human
rights, some political strikes are lawful.

International justifications- international labour law

International labour law refers to the rules of labour law which have been established by main
sources and are the legal instruments of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and
other international and regional human rights instruments. The ILO case law, developed by
the committee of Experts and the Committee on freedom of association, have derived the
right to strike from the concept of freedom of Association as enshrined In Conventions 87
and 88 holding that the right to strike is ‘an intrinsic corollary to the right to organize
protected by Convention 87 and the right to strike is ‘a legitimate means… through which
workers …may promote and defend their economic and social interest.’

International Covenant on economic, social and cultural rights (1966)

It justifies strike provided it is exercised in conformity with the laws of the particular country.
The European Social Charter of 1961, recognises the right of workers and employers to
collective action in the case of conflict of interest, including the right to strike, subject to
obligations that might arise out of collective agreements previously entered into.

The Zimbabwean constitution

The constitution of the Zimbabwe is the supreme law of the country and any law which is
inconsistent with it, is void. If the constitution grants the right to strike, any purported
prohibition or restriction of it in the labour legislation would be void. The constitution
according to section 65 (1) states that “ except the member of the security every employee
has the right to participate in collective job action, including the right to strike, sit in
withdraw their labour and to take other similar concerted action, but a law may restrict the
exercise of this right in order to maintain essential services.”

This however does not fairly and truly support the right to strike but somewhere somehow
protects the right to strike. More so, it is then argued that the constitutional protection of the
freedom of association and assembly enshrined in section 58 could cover a right to strike. The
constitution also protects the freedom to demonstrate and petition (section 59) states that

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“every person has the right to demonstrate and to present petition, but these rights must be
exercised peacefully. This could also cover the right to strike.

On the other hand the freedom to join and participate in trade unions activities necessarily
includes the right to strike. In support to that, the ILO derived a right to strike from freedom
of Association.

In countries like South Africa and Malawi, the constitutions specifically enshrine some right
to strike. In Zimbabwe it is clear that workers on strike or participating in a demonstration
have a constitutional right to peaceful assembly and movement without interference from
state is necessary for workers to demonstrate or assemble in the constitution.

Right to strike in the public service in Zimbabwe

The constitution creates two main groups of government workers.

The public service

It is administered by a constitutionally entrenched public service commission operating in
terms of the public service act. Other special groups outside the public service commission.
For example the police, army, prison services and the judiciary and these are governed by
specific acts of parliament enjoined by the constitution. There is no right what so ever to
strike for this group.

Right to strike outside the public service

The legislation governing labour law outside the government employment is the Labor
Relations Act (Chapter 28:01). According to Section 104 (1), ‘subject to this act all
employees, workers committees and trade unions shall have the right to resort to collective
job action for the redress of lawful grievances.

Labor Relations Act

Section 104(1) states that striking is justified when it is a collective action and not an
employee action. The Act recognizes the right to strike even by unorganized workers as long
as they are employed unlike in other countries like Germany and Sweden where a lawful
strike can only be organised by a Trade Union.

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Section 108 of the Act protects lawful strikes

The process for striking:

a) Fourteen days’ written notice of intent to resort to such action, specifying the grounds for
the intended action, given -
(i) to the party against whom the action is to be taken; and
(ii) to the appropriate employment council; and
(iii) to the appropriate trade union or employers organisation or federation
in the case of members of a trade union or employers organisation or federation
partaking in a collective job action where the trade union or employers organisation or
federation is not itself resorting to such action;

b) An attempt has been made to conciliate the dispute and a certificate of no settlement has
been issued in terms of section ninety-three.
(i) A labor officer to whom a dispute has been referred, or to whose attention it has come,
shall attempt to settle it through conciliation or, if agreed by the parties, by reference to
arbitration.
(ii) If the dispute is settled by conciliation, the labour officer shall record the settlement
in writing.

c) If the dispute is not settled within thirty days after the labour officer began to attempt to
settle it under subsection (1), the labour officer shall issue a certificate of no settlement to
the parties to the dispute.
Consultation to senior Officers
After a labour officer has issued a certificate of no settlement, the labour officer, upon
consulting any labour officer who is senior to him and to whom he is responsible in the
area in which he attempted to settle the dispute –

(i) shall refer the dispute to compulsory arbitration if the dispute is a

dispute of interest and the parties are engaged in an essential service; or
(ii) may, with the agreement of the parties, refer the dispute to
compulsory arbitration; or

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 (iii) may refer the dispute to compulsory arbitration if the dispute is a dispute of right;
and the provisions of section ninety-eight shall apply to such reference to
compulsory arbitration.

The labour court or labour officer is the one who chooses the Arbitrator, a person whose
name appears on a list referred to by the Minister, in consultation with the Senior President of
the Labour Court and the appropriate advisory council.
The Arbitration Act [Chapter 7:15] shall apply to a dispute referred to compulsory arbitration.

Where the Labour Court or a labour officer has referred a dispute to compulsory arbitration,
no employee, workers committee, trade union, employer or employers’ organization shall
engage in collective job action in respect of the dispute.

Purpose of enforcement
Where arbitral award has been registered, it shall have the effect, for purposes of
enforcement, of a civil judgment of the appropriate court.

There is no right to strike

When the strike does not achieve goals. The aim of the strike must be the conclusion of a
collective agreement or achieve goals, this applies particularly to political or demonstration
strikes (Halbach et al, 1992).

Zimbabwean strike laws are unclear

If there is clear justification on the right to strike, then there is a right to strike but if there is
no clear justification, then there is no right to strike. Hence the nature of the current
Zimbabwean law is not clear.

It is important to provide a clear justification for the right to strike, which constitute the basis
of the law. International Labour Organization Convention does not specify on the right to
strike. For example the ILO Conventions No 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of
the right to organize and 98 on the right to Organise and collective Bargaining do not make
any specific reference to the right to strike.

No right to strike for the public service

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The Zimbabwean Labour Act is silent and does not govern public service, therefore public
services are governed by the Public service commission and Specific Act of Parliament
(section 104)

Labor act
The Labour Act (section 93) states that, Collective job action is not allowed if the parties to
the dispute have agreed to refer the dispute to arbitration; or if the issue in dispute is a dispute
of right; or if a secret ballot in support of the strike has not been conducted, or if the CBA
procedures have not been complied with. More so, Subject to subsection (4), no collective job
action may be recommended or engaged in by -
(a) Any employees, workers committee, trade union, employer, employers’ organization or
federation -

(i) If the persons concerned are engaged in an essential service; or (ii) if the issue in dispute is
a dispute of right; or (iii) if the parties to the dispute have agreed to refer the dispute to
arbitration;

(b) Any employees, workers committee or employer, if there is in existence a registered trade
union or employers’ organization which represents the interests of the employees or
employers concerned and that trade union or employers’ organisation has not approved or
authorised the collective job action; or

(c) Any trade union, employers organisation or federation unless the trade union, employers
organisation or federation is registered; or

(d) Any workers committee, if there is in existence a union agreement which provides for or
governs the matter in dispute, and such agreement has not been complied with or remedies
specified therein have not been exhausted as to the issue in dispute

The Zimbabwean Constitution is clear

The constitution of Zimbabwe is the supreme law of the country and any law inconsistent
with it is void unless if the right to strike was derived from the constitution.

Labor Rights, Section 65(3)

Freedom of Association. The Canadian Supreme Court ruled that the right to strike cannot be

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derived from a mere right to associate as the latter does not only exist for trade unions.

Uniformed forces have no right to strike

For example the police force resorting to strike may constitute several offences such as
desertion, these offences might lead to imprisonment of up to 5years, worse more for the
army. Thus outside public service.

No right to strike before referring the dispute to labor relations officer

This dispute should be discussed together with the third part, which says that there is no right
to strike if a labour relations officer or other institutions in terms of party XII of the Act has
dealt with the dispute.

No right to strike where the matter is governed by an Act that has expired
Expired Act is deemed void. The Act gives the minister the power to stop the strike by
issuing a show cause order. Pending this defense, the strike is illegal.

Conclusion

The Zimbabwe’ view of strike is precisely a fact of giving a right to strike by a right hand and
almost completely taking it away by the left hand, which makes strikes in Zimbabwe
misconceived. The right to strike should be granted on some justification, so that the law can
make every effort realistic.

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QUESTION 14:

In the world of HR management workforce planning and recruitment are often described as
key functions within any company.

a. Name and discuss in detail giving practical examples the factors that influence the way in
which companies approach the important issue of recruitment.
b. Evaluate the relevance of the sources of recruitment in Zimbabwe.

Definition

Recruitment is the process of identifying the need for a new employee, defining the job to be
filled and the type of person needed to fill it, attracting suitable candidates for the job and
selecting the best one.

a. Factors Affecting Recruitment

Internal Factors (those controlled by the organizations).
External Factors (cannot controlled by the organization).

Internal Factors

 Recruitment Policy of the organization e.g. either using internal sources or

external sources.
 Human Resources planning e.g. in determining the number, qualifications and
skills required.
 Size of the organization
 Cost involved in recruitment e.g. advertising
 Growth and Expansion

External Factors

 Supply and Demand - availability of manpower both within and outside the
organization.
 Labor Market - Employment conditions where the organization is located.

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  Demographic factors such as age, gender
 Unemployment rates
 Goodwill/ image of the organization
 Labor laws such as gender equality
 Legal considerations and reservations e.g. certain positions for Zimbabweans
only.
 Competitors

b. Sources of Recruitment
Internal sources of recruitment and
External sources of recruitment.

Internal Sources
 This is when a vacancy arises in the organization, it may be given to an employee
who is already on the pay-roll.
 Internal sources include promotion, transfer and in certain cases demotion.
 Promotion: involves shifting of persons to positions carrying better prestige,
higher responsibilities and more pay. E.g. from lecturer to dean.
 Transfers: involves shifting of persons from present jobs to other similar jobs.
 Retirements: The retired employees may be given the extension in their service in
case of non--availability of suitable candidates for the post.
 Present employees: The present employees of a concern are informed about likely
vacant positions. The employees recommend their relations or persons intimately
known to them.
 Demotion to lower positions especially in the case of poor performing workers.
 Retrenched employees
 Upgrading

Benefits of Internal Sources

 Boost motivation and morale of existing employees

 Cheaper than using external advertising and recruitment agencies
 Builds loyalty among employees towards the organization

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 Culture of the organization is well understood by internal applicants
 No need for induction as applicants are familiar with the organization
 It is reliable and easy process
 It encourages self-development among the employees as they can look forward to
occupy higher posts.

Limitations of Internal Sources

 It discourages capable persons from outside to join the concern.

 It is possible that the requisite number of persons possessing qualifications for the
vacant posts may not be available in the organization.
 For posts requiring innovations and creative thinking, this method of recruitment
cannot be followed.
 If only seniority is the criterion for promotion, then the person filling the vacant
post may not be really capable.

In spite of the disadvantages, it is frequently used as a source of recruitment for lower

positions. It may lead to nepotism and favoritism. The employees may be employed
on the basis of their recommendation and not suitability.

Recommendations on Internal Sources

Ensure that there is an effective record system for potential candidates/employees.
The record system must have information on each employee’s qualification, training
and experience, assessment of achievement and interest. (Performance appraisals play
a part). Through the records HR has to identify the suitable candidate(s).

External Sources of Recruitment

Organizations have to use external sources for recruitment to higher positions when
existing employees are not suitable. More persons are needed when expansions are
undertaken. Methods are explained below:

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 Press advertising: It gives publicity to the vacant posts and the details about the
job in the form of job description and job specification are made available to
public in general. E.g. in Sunday Mail Job Center
 Campus interviews: The company officials personally visit various institutes and
select students eligible for a particular post through interviews.
 Placement agencies: A databank of candidates is sent to organizations for their
selection purpose and agencies get commission in return.
 Employment exchange: People register themselves with government employment
exchanges with their personal details. According to the needs and request of the
organization, the candidates are sent for interviews.
 Walk in interviews: These interviews are declared by companies on the specific
day and time and conducted for selection.
 E-recruitment: Various sites such as jobs.com, naukri.com, and monster.com are
the available electronic sites on which candidates upload their resume and seek the
jobs.
 Competitors: By offering better terms and conditions of service, the human
resource managers try to get the employees working in the competitor’s
organization.

Benefits of External Sources

 New talents get the opportunity.

 The best selection is possible as a large number of candidates apply for the job.
 In case of unavailability of suitable candidates within the organization, it is better
to select them from outside sources.

Limitations

 Skilled and ambitious employees may switch the job more frequently.
 It gives a sense of insecurity among the existing candidates.
 It increases the cost as advertisement is to be given through press and training
facilities to be provided for new candidates.

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Recommendation on External Sources
Require knowledge of the labor market analysis. Labor market is the social or
geographical area from which a business draws its employees. HR must know whom
to recruit, where to recruit from and how they must be recruited. (Job description and
job/person specification /planning). HR must through a selective advert ensure that
only those suitable apply for selection.

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QUESTION 7:

Explain in detail giving practical examples the following three theoretical approaches to
industrial relation

a) Unitary perspective
b) Pluralist perspective
c) Marxist perspective

Industrial relation refers to the relationship between employers and employees in an industry
and the role of a regulatory body to resolve the industrial disputes.

Introduction

Industrial relation arises from employee-employer relationship which influenced by complex

set of institutional, economic and technological factors. The basic principles in labour
relations could be considered as structured and substantiated by the theoretical perspectives
applied in a workplace environment. Conflict in a workplace environment is acknowledged
as a normal part of the relationship between workers and employers, but a general
understanding and cooperation between the workers and employers lies on work relations
between these two parties to advance and achieve their objectives.

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Unitary perspective

The unitary perspective is on the notion that all members of the organization that is managers,
workers and other staff have the have same objective, interest and purposes and therefore,
work in unison towards the accomplishment of shared goals. Managements’ prerogative is
regarded as rational and any opposition as irrational and the organization is not therefore
viewed as a ‘them and us’ situation (Calas, M. & Smircich, L. 1996). All authority and
responsibility are centered in one person so that the senior managements can and must decide
on all key issues. Working practices should be flexible, individuals should be business
process improvement oriented, multi-skilled and ready to tackle with efficiency whatever
tasks required. Staffing policies should to unify effort, inspire and motivate employees and
the organizations wider objectives should be properly communicated and discussed with
staff. Management drives the process of production for the benefit of all within the
organisation and that the interests of management and workers are the same. The consensus
about the objectives of an organisation can be produced by employee being confronted with

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ideals and values and their adoption being a condition of their continuing employment.
Management conflicts are seen as arising from lack of information, inadequate presentation
of management policies (Fox, A., 1966). Trade unions are therefore of no value to their
management of employees, it is as if some unnatural force inserted itself into a natural
arrangement. For example, unitary applies to Ministry of Defense which includes Zimbabwe
Republic Police, Zimbabwe Air Force etc. whose core values are: Loyalty, Professionalism,
Patriotism, Integrity and Unity of purpose.

Strength of unitary perspective is that managers are compelled to go beyond their managerial
styles of managing ER and emphasize also their leadership capabilities in the sense that, if
they can be convincing and influential leaders in the organization, there will be no strong
demand for trade unions. The unitary perspective assumes that all stakeholders are rational
members, who will consider finding common interests. This belief provides a steady rationale
for stressing common goals, so that a stable ER system can be achieved.

The shortcoming of unitary theory certainly does not take into account of the real need of the
employees nor does it recognize the differences in objectives that exist between employers
and employees. The explanation for the existence of a countervailing force, whether in the
form of an individual, group or trade union, rests on the failure to understand the objectives
of management, better means of communication are often exhorted as the cure for such ills.

Pluralist perspective

Pluralist perspectives are based on the assumption that the organisation is composed of
individuals who coalesce into a variety of distinct sectional groups, each with its own interest,
objectives and leadership (Clegg, H. 1975). The organisation is perceived as being mutli-
structured and competitive in terms of grouping, leadership, authority and loyalty and these
gives rise to tensions and competing claims which have to be managed in the interest of
managing a viable collaborative structure. The existence of conflict is allowed and to an
extent encouraged, it is based on the notion that the conflict between the management and the
employees is inevitable and is viewed as instrumental in the innovation and growth. Conflict

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is perceived as both rational and inevitable because of the nature of the organisation, which
has people with different aspirations, values and norms. Conflict leads to creative tensions,
which encourage effective arguments and debate. The management and trade unions are the
powerful sub-group that may not agree with certain terms and conditions prevailing in the
organisation and to resolve those conflicts management tries to mediate the interest of both
groups. During mediation, if management pay less attention to the needs of the workers then
they form unions in order to protect their interest and influence the management decision. For
examples when environmental groups decide that there is a need for a new law regulating
some form of pollution, they seek compromises from chemical companies. People from the
public voice their opinions, as does the Environmental Management Agency. Any law that
follows is a result of various groups speaking up and is an exercise in pluralism and this
applies in organizations like financial institutions e.g. FBC Holdings, CBZ, Standard
Chartered etc.

Shortcoming of pluralist is that it believes in the existence of democracy, which through the
franchise ensures that individual rights are recognised and depicts the differing parties to the
employment relationship possessing a rough equivalence of power and influence, competing
for power on the basis of similar levels of influence.

Marxist perspective

This perspective focuses mainly on the nature of the capitalist society, a society where very
few people own the means of production, profits are the major focus of the organisation; and
the control of workers is enforced vertically by management (Braverman, H. 1974). Industrial
conflict is viewed not only in terms of the organisation demands and tensions but also in
economic and social divisions that characterise the society, in particular the struggle between
capital and labour. Industrial conflict is a continuous process inherent in a capitalist society; it
is unavoidable and synonymous with political and social conflict and the balance of power
within the organisation is tilted in favour of the management; employees accept the role of
management. Trade unions and collective bargaining processes are accepted since they
enhance the capitalist system rather than opposed to it (Cradden, C. 2009). These trade

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unions are considered as a weapon to bring about a revolutionary social change that focuses
on improving the overall position of the workers in the capitalist system and not to
overthrow. For example, the Zimbabwean government practices Marxist approach as they
pay low wages to civil servants. Political system operates mainly in the interests of rich
business owners and industrialists and the case in the issue of board directors in Zimbabwe,
where the same powerful own all the BOD positions, living little room to the rest. A large
number of businesses owned by a few individual’s example is of OLD MUTUAL LIFE
ASSURANCE, which owns varies properties for example Westgate complex, East gate
complex and Batanai Gardens

Shortcomings of Marxist perspectives are that: it is narrow in approach as it views industrial

relations as a product or outcome of the industrial conflict. This approach also encourages
monopolies, and at the same time, wages will decrease at minimum standard of living.
Capitalists (employers) and workers compete in dispute to win ground and establish their
constant win-lose struggles.

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QUESTION 6:
Using practical examples, analyze the role of tripartite partners in shaping industrial
relations in Zimbabwe

Introduction
The presentation below is going to highlight the role tripartite partners’ play in shaping the
industrial relations. The tripartite partners include the employees, employers and the
government.

Definition of key terms:

Tripartism
Tripartite by definition means three, and when it comes to industrial relations, we are looking
at three components: the employees, employers and the government. In Zimbabwe, there is
the tripartite Negotiating Forum which is a social dialogue platform that brings together
government, business and labor to negotiate over key socio-economic matters.

Employee
A person who works in the service of another person under an express or implied contract of
higher, under which the employer has the right to control the details of work performance.
The employee provides the employer with equitable man power to achieve pre-set objectives.
In addition to this, an employee as a unit may find it hard to negotiate for terms of
employment that seem suitable for him/her on his own and thus requires the help of employee
unions (also equitably known as trade unions or labour unions.

Trade Unions
A trade union is an organization made up of members (a membership-based organization) and
its membership must be made up mainly of workers. Most trade unions are independent of
any employer. However, trade unions try to develop close working relationships with
employers. This can sometimes take the form of a partnership agreement between the
employer and the trade union which identifies their common interests and objectives.
(www.nidirect.gov.uk).

Employer

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A legal entity that controls and directs a servant or a worker under an express or implied
contract of employment and pays or is obligated to pay him/her salary or wages and
compensation is an employer. An employer is an organization, institution, government entity,
agency, company, professional services firm, nonprofit association, small business, store, or
individual who employs or puts to work, a person who is called an employee.

In exchange for the employee’s work or services, the employer pays compensation that may
include a salary, an hourly wage, and benefits that are above the Federally mandated
minimum wage.(www.humanresources.about.com/employer) An employer does not need to
hold a position in the entity but he/she can have his/her interests represented by management.

Government
A group of people that govern a community or unit. It sets and administers public policy and
exercise executive, political and sovereign power through customs, institutions and laws
within a state. In other words, it governs the state by setting up rules and regulations to be
adhered to by all people found within the state.

Industrial Relations
Also known as labor relations refer to the relations of management and workers in the
industry. It is concerned with the interactions between the employer who is in most cases
represented by management and the workforce (Beech 2008).

BODY
Roles of employees
For a person to be called an employee, he/she would have accepted a job offered by a firm.
The expected role an employee is supposed to play in the industry is to:

Offer personal service to the employer

When an employee accepts a job offer, he/she should offer personal service to the employer
in terms of dedication and using the skills and qualifications he/she would have been
employed to use. Employees should show dependability by taking personal ownership of all
aspects of their job including being on time, dressing and working in a professional manner
and demonstrating a higher level of commitment. Managers like dependable employees
because they set and maintain clear expectations. (www.america’sjobexchange.com). It is
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wrong for an employee to just be absent from work without talking to the employer as this
puts a strain on the relationship that exists between the employer and the concerned
employee.

Take reasonable care in conduct and performance of duties

Employees are expected to be obedient to all lawful orders from their employer, or
employer’s agent such as the manager. Employees are expected to carry out the work
assigned to them in a manner requested by the employer provided it is not against the law.
The format in which an employer sets a particular job to be done is the way it should be done
unless the employee is given the room to be creative. Take for example an assembling line of
cars. If an employee does not follow the set procedures when assembling a vehicle, he/she
may miss a crucial part thereby making the car defective. When the employer sells cars
assembled by the disobedient employee, they may get involved in accidents and the
employer’s reputation will be damaged. The ripple effect of this on industrial relations is that
the employer will blame the employees for the mishap, souring a possibly good relationship
between these two parties. In order for the employee and employer to continue to have a
good respectful relationship, the employee must play his or her role of conducting his duties
faithfully and using his full potential.

Not to disclose any trade secrets to a third party

Employees must not misuse any information about clients or company personnel. Information
must only be used to for the purpose it was collected. (Leo Isaac 2005). In certain
circumstances an employee can be held liable if he/she is found to be guilty of sharing
company secrets. This sours the seemingly good relationship that exists between the
employer and the rest of the employees as trust will be broken.

Safety and care

Employees are responsible for acting with all due regard to safety at all times. They have a
responsibility to observe the legal safety regulations. They can be held responsible if safety
equipment such as clothing provided by the employer is not worn in the workplace.
Employees must give consideration to the health and welfare of co-workers. Workers in the
organization should try their best not to engage in unsafe acts such as alcohol or drug
intoxication, making safety devices in operable by using them for unintended purposes or
throwing material indiscriminately. (Werner et al).
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As stated before, it may be difficult for an employee by himself to negotiate for suitable
terms of employment and this may lead to job dissatisfaction. For this fact, the trade unions
come into play. The functions of trade unions when it comes to shaping industrial relations is
that

Roles of Trade Unions

To protect and support employees
Trade Unions are created to protect and support the individual by providing a collective
strength that acts as a countervailing force to management and also as a pressure group within
society. Trade unions are allowed to engage in collective bargaining as the desired method of
settling wages and conditions of employment.(Du Plessis)The major goal here is to ensure
that the rights of the employee are upheld by the employer.
Labour Unions are there to address the plight of employees (grievance handling). When an
employee is not satisfied at work and feels that the employer is not faithfully and properly
administering the terms of the labour agreement, he/she can take his/her grievances up to the
labour union which he/she is a part of. The labour union will then present these employee
assertions to the concerned management and devise a way forward.

To maximize the wages and employment of its members

Labour Unions seek to eliminate wages as a factor in competition amongst the employers.
They press for wage uniformity throughout the industry for the same class of work.(Beach S
1985). Though this is a long range union goal, unions frequently have to settle for less but
certainly within each company they demand for equal pay for equal work. This in other
words means that all employees doing a particular kind of job should receive the same pay.
Moreover, the wages paid should be fair and workers should be paid accordingly to their
performance.

To establish a joint rule- making system which both protects its members from arbitrary
management actions and allows them to participate in decision making within the
organization within which they work.

To express the social cohesion, aspiration or political ideology of its membership and seek to
develop a society which reflects this view.
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Roles of employers
Encourage effective communication
Poor communication in any organization leads to confusion and misunderstanding.
Communication has to be precise and relevant.
The manager should play with words and be specific about his expectations from his
employees.
If the employer is not happy with his employees’ proposal, he should not keep it to himself
but rather voice his opinion and express his displeasure. Definitely this will prevent conflict
amongst employees and will result in an improvement in relations amongst them.
(www.managementstudyguide.com)

Health and safety

Employers should take reasonable care to ensure that all employees are safe at work. It is a
statutory duty for the employer to provide a safe working environment. If employees are
working in a chemical plant, the employer should ensure that the employees have safety gear
for example gas masks, gloves, safety shoes etc. The employer should take reasonable care
to ensure that all employees are safe at the workplace and indemnify any employee for injury
sustained during employment (Beardwell et al 2010).

Employee training and development

Employers’ strategic role to employee training and development prepares the workforce for
the future positions within the company. Training is defined as the action of teaching a person
particular skills that lead to the successful performance of a job. Development involves
imparting skills in decision making, problem solving, management and leadership. Training
and development enhances the skills of the workforce and increases their value. The
advantages of training and development are that it motivates employees and in some way
improve employee retention. (www.novella.mmhhe.com).The workers would be geared to
take up responsibility and thus be more productive. To the employer, the increase in
productivity will increase his/her returns and the products will be of better quality. So both
parties will be happy and satisfied in the end.

Offer equal employment opportunities

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Employers are expected to treat all employees as fairly as possible and offer each of the
workers equal employment opportunities. An employer should refrain from all forms of
discrimination in employment on basis of race, skin colour, gender or national origin.(Beach
Dale 1985) but should treat all men and women as equals in the work place. In previous
decades, women were often segregated in the sense that they were deemed inferior to men
and thus were not considered for certain job positions such as that of C.E.O or of even being
simply a line manager though women were equally qualified to assume them. However
thanks to the laws and activism programmes, the role of women has changed from just being
seen as followers but to being world class leaders.

Give fair compensation for work done

Employers should give compensation to employees in return for work performed. According
to Milkovitch and Newman in their 2005 book, Compensation; Compensation is all forms of
financial returns and tangible services and benefits employees receive as part of the
employment relationship. Employers should not exploit workers but should give them
something for the labour expended.

Treat workers humanly

Employers should realize that their employees are as much human as they are and thus should
treat all employees in a courteous and polite manner. Employers should not bully or abuse
their employees or subject them to racist or sexist remarks (Claydon et al). what this means is
that for the relationship of employee and employer to work and produce fruitful results, the
employer has a role of treating the employer in a manner that does not bring down his morale
or ruin his/her love for work. This particularly applies to those tyrannical or authoritative
employers who dictate what to do the workers. They should avoid using derogatory terms
some of which are very sensitive to the employee such as a black man being called a ‘negro.’
When addressing the employees, it is the employer’s duty to address them formally and
respectfully.

Roles of Government
The government plays a mediatory role between the employees and employers. When it
comes to industrial relations, government’s main role is making laws and regulations that
benefit the employers and employees. Appropriate industrial relations legislation should

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recognize the requirements of both employers and employees. This means that the equal
bargaining power of employers and employees must be recognized (Peetz David 2006).
Government is responsible for:

Setting up legislation for health and safety at work

In any organization that employs people to work for them needs to ensure that they prize the
health and safety of their employees. However it is not all employers who are concerned
about their workers welfare.

Ensuring fair compensation for the employees

When employees work in any organization, they expect to be paid for work done. Employers
are however deemed to be concerned about maximizing output at a very low cost.
Incidentally employees are a very huge cost to the firm and if the employers had their way,
they would either pay the workers as little as possible or not pay them at all so as to limit
their costs. Lack of pay or compensation demotivates the employees and as a result
production might diminish, leading to the failure of businesses. The government comes in to
prevent this kind of adverse reaction by setting up legislation that places a regulation on the
minimum amount a worker is allowed to be paid. A minimum wage is the lowest
remuneration that an employer may legally pay to workers. Other texts say it is the price floor
below which workers may not sell their labour (https//en.wikipedia.org/minimum wage). The
reason for this is so that workers will not be exploited by the employers.

Protecting employees against unfair dismissal

Unfair dismissal from work simply implies that an employee is discharged from their job in
harsh, unjust or unreasonable grounds (www.fairwork.gov.au). In most cases the employee
leaves the workplace without reasonable compensation. The Labour Act of Zimbabwe section
12B(1) states that every employee has a right not to be unfairly dismissed from work and it
also outlines the cases in which an employee is deemed to be unfairly dismissed. Employers
are not permitted by law to just tell their workers that their term of work has ended and that
the worker should leave immediately but that an employee should be given proper notice
when it comes to termination of work and that justifiable reasons for termination should be
given.

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Conclusion
All tripartite partners have a role to play in shaping industrial relations and no role pertaining
to either of the parties can be seen as being the greater or most important role. In order for
there to be production in economy of any state, the employees, employers and the
government have to have synergy. Synergy simply means that the whole is greater than the
sum of parts. They all have to play their designated roles as discussed above to ensure fruitful
industrial relations.

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QUESTION 15:
Identify and explain in detail giving practical examples of the following appraisal techniques.
For each of the techniques, identify the respective advantages and disadvantages:

a) 3600 Method
b) 7200 Method
c) Essay Method
d) Critical Incident Method
e) Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)
f) Checklist Method
g) Forced Distribution Method
h) Management By Objectives (MBO)
i) Graphic Rating Scale
j) Assessment Centers
k) Human Resource Accounting

Performance/Employee Appraisal
Performance appraisal is a powerful tool to help the supervisor meet the objectives of the
department and organization. The benefits of conducting performance appraisals include
providing information necessary for improving performance and motivating employees.
Performance appraisals also provide important records for the company. Managers use this
information for decisions on raises, promotions, and discipline.

There are systematic steps in appraising performance:

First, performance and results expectations and standards of performance are established and
communicated to employees.
Then, the supervisor then observes behavior and performance results, comparing them to the
standards set.
Finally, the supervisor provides reinforcement for acceptable or excellent performance and
works with employees to develop remedies for inadequate performance.

It is impossible for different supervisors to evaluate employees in exactly the same way. A
supervisor may have a tendency to select some specific ratings or identify certain behaviors
as problematic over others. Biases about specific people and groups of people can affect the

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appraisal process. For example, supervisors who fail to keep good records may rely on recent
events when evaluating an employee. A supervisor may give a more favorable appraisal to
someone who is similar to the supervisor and appraise more negatively a person who is
different from the supervisor.

Another bias comes from the halo effect, which leads people to generalize one positive or
negative trait to a person’s entire performance. There are several types of appraisals used to
evaluate performance. Supervisors usually do not choose the type of form to use, rather it is
selected by the human resources department or upper management.

The goal of some appraisal forms is to make the process easy and consistent for all
employees. Ideally, the form focuses on behavioral performance and results to reduce bias ant
increase objectivity.

Performance Appraisal Techniques

 360° Method
 720° Method
 Essay Method
 Critical Incident Method
 Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)
 Checklist Method
 Forced Distribution Method
 Management By Objectives (MBO)
 Graphic Rating Scale
 Assessment Centers
 Human Resource Accounting

Methods of Performance Appraisal

1. Traditional Methods
 Critical Incident Method
 Forced Distribution
 Checklist Method

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  Graphic Rating Scale
 Paired Comparison
 Essay Appraisal Method
 Straight Ranking Method

2. Modern Methods
 Management By Objectives (MBO)
 Assessment Centers
 Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale
 Human Resource Accounting
 360° Method
 720° Method

360° Method

An assessment process used to improve managerial effectiveness by providing the manager

with a more complete assessment of their effectiveness and their performances and
development. In 360° method, the person being appraised rate themselves and everyone rates
them. Customers, suppliers, subordinates, managers, team members, vendors etc. Feedback
can be obtained through questionnaires.

Participants

 Superiors
 Subordinate
 Peers/Colleagues
 Direct Reports
 Customers
 Self

What Does 360° Method Measure?

 Behaviors and competences e.g. cooperation, team player, interaction etc.

 Skills e.g. listening, planning, goal setting etc.
 Subjective areas e.g. teamwork, character, leadership effectiveness etc.
 Provides feedback on how others perceive an employee.

Advantages

 Collects information from as many sources as possible

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 Lessens the possibility of bias
 Honest assessment from a variety of constituents
 Confidential input
 Helps employees see themselves as other perceive them
 Provides accurate assessment
 Provides information which neither employee nor his/her superiors may be aware of.
 More objective than most appraisal techniques
 Helps employees identify strengths and weaknesses and address skill gaps
 Leads to continuous learning, personal growth and confidence
 May eliminate favoritism

Weaknesses

 Affects motivation of employees adversely

 It is time consuming and wastes resources
 Feedback can be affected by consumer and supplier perceptions of the organization e.g.
ZESA
 It is a tiresome and laboursome process, might cause boredom for the Human Resources
Management
 At times the people who compile the findings can also be prone to bias
 There might be inadequate information pertaining to the appraisee by other members of
the organizations to make a correct assessment e.g. Vice Chancellor of CUT, accountants
etc.
 Fear of victimization
 Information overload
 Might not give a true reflection
 There is the possibility of rater error or error of central tendency, leniency or strictness,
recency of events, contrasts error and similar to me error.

720° Method
720 degree performance appraisal is an integrated method of performance appraisal where,
the performance of an employee is evaluated from 360 degrees and timely feedback is given

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and performance is evaluated again based on the targets that are set. 720 degree performance
appraisal can be stated as twice 360 degree performance appraisal. Once when the appraisal
is done and the targets are set and he second where the feedback is given and the boss gives
tips to achieve the goals.

Strengths

 Improved feedback from more resources.

 Provides a platform for Team Development
 Personal and organizational Performance Development
 Responsibility for career development
 Reduced discrimination risk
 Improved customer Service
 Training needs assessment.

Weaknesses

 Exceptional expectations for the process.

 Insufficient Information as with the 360° method.
 Design process downfalls
 Failure to connect the process as it is long.
 Insufficient training and process understanding.
 Focus on negatives and weaknesses most of the time.
 Requires commitment of top management and the human resources (time, finance,
resources, etc.)
 Paperwork (computer entry overload)
 Rater inexperience and ineffectiveness as a determining factor for success.

Essay Method
This method describes employee performance by the manager or superior over the entire
evaluation period by writing a narrative, detailing the strength and weaknesses of the
appraisee. If done correctly this approach could provide a great detail of valuable data for
discussion in the appraisal interview. A major determining factor for the success and failure

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of this technique is that it entirely depends on the writing skills of the supervisor/manager.

Strengths

 Report actually shows employee's performance.

 It is not restricted, can cover all factors.
 Examples are given of what employee does best and what which areas they need to
revisit.
 Provides feedback to the employee

Weaknesses

 Time consuming.
 Supervisor may write a biased essay.
 Effective writers are very difficult to find.

Critical Incident Method

Is a set of procedures used for collecting direct observations of human behavior that have
critical significance. A critical incident can be described as one that makes a contribution
either positively or negatively to an activity or phenomenon. Critical incidents can be
gathered in various ways, but typically respondents are asked to tell a story about an
experience they have had. It is done on the basis of incidence that occurs to the participating
employee. It includes recording of all positive and negative incidents. Example; coming up
with a brilliant method of reducing wastage, going against a superior etc.

It is a flexible method that usually relies on five major areas:

The first is determining and reviewing the incident.

Then fact-finding, which involves collecting the details of the incident from the participants.

Then identify the issues.

Then decision can be made on how to resolve the issues based on various possible solutions.

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Lastly, evaluation, which will determine if the solution that was selected will solve the root
cause of the situation and will cause no further problems.

Strengths

 Flexible method that can be used to improve multi-user systems.

 Data is collected from the respondent's perspective and in his or her own words
 Does not force the respondents into any given framework.
 Identifies even rare events that might be missed by other methods which only focus on
common and everyday events.
 Useful when problems occur but the cause and severity are not known.
 Inexpensive and provides rich information.
 Emphasizes the features that will make a system particularly vulnerable and can bring
major benefits (e.g. safety).
 Can be applied using questionnaires or interviews.
 Easy to understand.

Weaknesses

 A first problem comes from the type of the reported incidents.

 The Critical Incident Technique will rely on events being remembered by users and will
also require the accurate and truthful reporting of them.
 Since critical incidents often rely on memory, incidents may be imprecise or may even go
unreported.
 The method has a built-in bias towards incidents that happened recently, since these are
easier to recall.
 Respondents may not be accustomed to or willing to take the time to tell (or write) a
complete story when describing a critical incident.
 Since this method is based on incidents it does not say anything about the everyday
situation so it is not very representative.

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS)

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) are designed to bring the benefits of both
qualitative and quantitative data to the employee appraisal process. BARS compare an

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individual’s performance against specific examples of behavior that are anchored to
numerical ratings. BARS are normally presented vertically with scale points ranging from
five to nine. For example, a level four rating for a nurse may require them to show sympathy
to patients while a level six rating may require them to show higher levels of empathy and
ensure this comes across in all dealings with the patient.

The behavioral examples used as anchor points are often collected using Critical Incident
Techniques (CIT), which are procedures used for documenting human behavior that have
significance in a particular area. It is an appraisal method that aims to combine the benefits of
narratives, critical incidents, and quantified ratings by anchoring a quantified scale with
specific narrative examples of good, moderate, and poor performance. BARS were developed
in response to dissatisfaction with the subjectivity involved in using traditional rating scales
such as the graphic rating scale.

It differs from standard rating scales in one central respect, in that it focuses on behaviors that
are determined to be important for completing a job task or doing the job properly, rather
than looking at more general employee characteristics e.g. personality, vague work habits.
EXAMPLE: Rather than having a rating item that says: Answers phone promptly and
courteously, a BARS approach may break down that task into behaviors:
Answers phone within five rings.
Greets caller with "Hello, This is the Chinhoyi University of Technology, how may I help
you?"

Benefits

 BARS are intended to facilitate more accurate ratings of the target person's behavior or
performance.
 Job behaviors describe employee performance in a better way.
 More objective
 More acceptances due to participation of managers and employees

Weaknesses

 May suffer from unreliability, leniency bias and lack of discriminant validity between
performance dimensions.
 Scale independence may not be valid/ reliable.

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 Behaviors are activity oriented rather than result oriented.
 Very time consuming for generating BARS.
 Each job will require creating separate BARS scale.

Checklist Method
The appraisal is done through answers from a number of questions. There are two columns
provided for each question, either a yes or no. The manager simply responds yes or no to the
questions, which can fall into either the behavioral or the trait method, or both.
Example:
Does the employee finish delegated tasks on time? Yes No
Is the employee satisfied with the job? Yes No

Strengths

 Checklist method for performance evaluations lessens the subjectivity.

 Avoids discrimination. With written evaluations, managers have more freedom to
overemphasize and overlook strengths and weaknesses.
 Checklist formats force reviewers to evaluate employees on a skill-by-skill basis and to
think critically about areas of employee performance that otherwise might have been left
unconsidered.
 The checklist framework removes some of the emotional bias that goes into performance
reviews.

Weaknesses

 It does not allow more detailed answers and analysis of the performance criteria, unless
combined with another method, such as essay ratings.
 Because checklists are relatively quick to fill out, a manager might thoughtlessly select
check boxes without considering specific examples that justify each rating

Forced Distribution Method

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The system requires the managers to evaluate each individual, and rank them typically into
categories e.g. excellent, above average, good, below average, poor. It forces the rator to
distribute the ratings of the overall performance. One common error in evaluating employees
is ranking most of them near a certain level. The Forced Distribution Method tries to
overcome this problem by assuming that employee performance would follow statistical
norms and be distributed more evenly. The expectations of a bell curve would be something
like: excellent is 10 percent, good 20 is percent, average is 40 percent, below average is 20
percent and unsatisfactory is 10 percent.

Strengths

 Fast and time efficient

 Transparent
 Cost Effective
 Simple and easy to use

Weaknesses

 Somewhat controversial due to the competition it creates.

 There is the reality that not all employees will fit neatly into one of the categories and
might end up in a category that does not reflect their true performance.
 It causes employee morale problems.
 Morale problems who are not rated at or near the top of the list.
 Suitable for small workforce.
 Workers strengths and weakness cannot be easily determined.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

Also known as management by results (MBR). It is a process of defining objectives within an
organization so that management and employees agree to the objectives and understand what
they need to do in the organization in order to achieve them. An important part of the MBO is
the measurement and the comparison of the employee’s actual performance with the
standards set. Ideally, when employees themselves have been involved with the goal setting
and choosing the course of action to be followed by them, they are more likely to fulfill their
responsibilities. Behind the principle of MBO is for employees to have a clear understanding

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of the roles and responsibilities expected of them.

Benefits

 Motivation – Involving employees in the whole process of goal setting and increasing
employee empowerment. This increases employee job satisfaction and commitment.
 Better communication and coordination – Frequent reviews and interactions between
superiors and subordinates help to maintain harmonious relationships within the
organization and also to solve problems.
 Clarity of goals - Subordinates tend to have a higher commitment to objectives they set
for themselves than those imposed on them by another person. Managers can ensure that
objectives of the subordinates are linked to the organization's objectives. Common goal
for whole organization means it is a directive principle of management.

Weaknesses

 It over-emphasizes the setting of goals over the working of a plan as a driver of outcomes.
 It under-emphasizes the importance of the environment or context in which the goals are
set.
 Difficult for employees to agree on goals.
 Misses intangibles like honesty, integrity, quality, etc.
 Interpretation of goals may vary from manager to manager, and employee to employee.
 Time consuming, complicated, lengthy and expensive.

Graphic Rating Scale

A scale that lists a number of traits and a range of performance for each. The employee is
then rated by identifying the score that best describes his or her performance for each trait. A
graphic rating scale lists the traits each employee should have and rates workers on a
numbered scale for each trait. The scores are meant to separate employees into tiers of
performers, which can play a role in determining promotions and salary adjustments.
Strengths

 Simple.

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 Easily constructed.
 Ease of use.
 Results are standardized what allows comparison to be made between employees.
 Reduce the personal bias

Weaknesses

 Rating may be subjective.

 Each characteristic is equally important in evaluation of the employee's performance.
 Some evaluators can be too strict or lenient.
 Employees may not hear the positive feedback in any essay part of the evaluation because
they're fuming at a rating-scale grade they perceive to be too low.
 They may also miss the suggestions for improvement because they're basking in a grade
that suggests their work is already superior.
 It becomes difficult to differentiate employees who land in the middle group, especially
when those employees have different combinations of strengths and weaknesses.
 Even with repeated cautions and warnings to maintain performance logs, evaluators may
overweight employees' most recent behavior in performance reviews

Assessment Centers
An assessment centre is a place at which a person, such as a member of staff, is assessed to
determine their suitability for particular roles, especially management or military command.
The candidates' personality and aptitudes are determined by a variety of techniques including
interviews, group exercises, examinations and psychometric testing. Employees are evaluated
over a period of time; say one or three days, by observing their behaviors across a series of
selected exercises or work samples.

Strengths

 Concepts are simple.

 Highly flexible methodology.
 Helps in selection and promotion decisions and for diagnosing employee development
needs.
 Allow for the measurement of multiple attributes.

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 Exercise is hard to fake.

Weaknesses

 Expensive and difficult to manage

 Requires a large staff
 Requires a great deal of time.
 Only a limited number of people can be processed at a time.
 Much intellectual loads of assessors.

Human Resource Accounting

The people are valuable resources of an organization, Information on investment and value of
human resource is useful for decision making in the organization. Human resource
accounting is the process of identifying and reporting the investments made in the Human
Resources of an Organization that are presently not accounted for in the conventional
accounting practices.

Strengths

 Human Resource Accounting helps the management in Employment and utilization of

Human Resources.
 It helps in deciding transfers, promotion, training and retrenchment of human resources
 It provides a basis for the planning of physical assets vis-a-vis human resources
 It helps in evaluating the expenditure incurred for imparting further education and
training of employees in terms of the benefits derived by the firm.
 It helps to identify the causes of high labour turnover at various levels and taking
preventive measures to contain it.
 It helps in locating the real cause for low return on investment, like improper or
underutilization of physical assets or human resources or both
 It helps in understanding and assessing the inner strength of an organization and helps the
management to steer the company well through the most averse and unfavorable
circumstances.
 It provides valuable information for persons interested in making long term investments
in the firm

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 It helps the employees in improving their performance and bargaining power. It makes
each employee understand his contribution towards the betterment of the firm vis-a-vis
the expenditure incurred by the firm on him

Weaknesses

 The valuation method is based on false assumption that the dollar is stable.
 This method measures only the costs to the organization but ignores completely any
measure of the value of the employee to the organization.
 It is too tedious to gather the related information regarding the human values.
 There are no specific & clear-cut guidelines for finding cost and value of human
resources of an organization. Since the assets (employees) cannot be sold there is no
independent check of valuation.
 The life of human resources is uncertain and therefore, valuing then under uncertainty
seems unrealistic.

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QUESTION 9:

Identify and explain in detail giving practical examples the causes of stress in an
organization

Definition of key terms

Stress: A state of mental or emotional strain resulting from adverse or demanding
circumstances (Brown 2000). Stress can be a person’s adaptive response to a stimulus that
places excessive pshychological or physical demands on that person (Moohead and Griffin,
2001).

Organisation: An organisation is a socially coordinated social unit composed of two or more

people that functions on a relatively continuous basis to achieve a common goal or set of
goals King D et al (2013).

Causes of Stress

 Work over load

 Work under load
 Poor communication
 Challenging job assignments
 Sexual harassment
 Personal problems
 Leadership styles
 Unequal distribution of financial rewards e.g. wages, bonuses etc.
 Poor and unhealthy working conditions
 Conflict with managers or co workers
 Organizational changes
 Job insecurity
 Bullying or harassment

Conclusion
Stress is inevitable in all organizations, either it exists especially in the dynamic business
environment. The main focus is on dealing with it so that it does not become excessive as it
will have a negative impact on productivity. Stress management techniques: exercising,

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positive thinking, practice mental work, time management may be used

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QUESTION 13:

Discuss the consequences of stress to both employees and employers using Zimbabwean
context.

Introduction
The current situation in Zimbabwe triggers stress to both employees and employers. There is
high inflation rate, where prices are going up but employee salaries are stagnant. There is
high unemployment rate, political instability and poor working conditions in some
organisations. These result in positive and negative consequences on both employees and
employers.

Definition of key terms.

Stress - It is a condition of physical and psychological mental disorder which occurs in a
situation of pressure, when resources are unable to fulfil the demands of an individual
(Naqvi; 2013).

Negative Effects on Employees.

 Difficulties in decision making.

 Reduced teamwork participation.
 High error rate and poor quality of work.
 Work life imbalance.
 Lack of motivation.
 Poor working relations.
 Drug abuse.
 May lead to absenteeism.
 More industrial accidents.

Negative Effects on Employers.

 Poor planning.
 Harassment of employees.
 Poor decision making.
 High recruitment costs.
 Increased training costs.
 Reputational damage.
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 Loss of productivity.

Positive Effects on Employees.

 It can be a motivating factor.

 It enhances flexibility.
 It’s a cognitive enhancer.

Positive Effects on Employers.

 It aids in delegation and promotion.

 It can be used to dismiss incompetent workers.
 It enables the employer to adopt the best management style
 Reduces informal groups.
 It enhances flexibility

Conclusion
Stress is more detrimental than it can be positive in an organisation. Thus organisations must
strive to avoid or minimize stress levels within the organisation.

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QUESTION 4:
Discuss the collective bargaining process as a means of harmony between management and
employees in Zimbabwe.

Introduction

Collective bargaining is defined as a process of negotiation between the employer and the
organized workers represented by their union in order to determine the terms and conditions
of employment. According to Salamon (1998), collective bargaining is a method of
determining terms and conditions of employment and regulating the employment relationship
which utilizes the process of negotiation between representatives of management and
employees intended to result in an agreement which may be applied across a group of
employees.

Collective bargaining in Zimbabwe

Collective bargaining agreements, according to the Labor Act are negotiated by registered or
certified trade unions, employers and employees organizations and federations. Labour
Amendment Act in sections 25, 79, 80 and 81 gives the Minister of Labour the power to
approve collective agreements, register and publish them. In Zimbabwe all trade unions
affiliate to the ZCTU.

Collective bargaining makes provision for:

 Benefits of employees.
 Rate of remuneration.
 Requirements of occupational safety.
 Hours of work.
 Conditions of employment.

A collective bargaining consists of four types:

1. distributive bargaining,
2. integrative bargaining,
3. attitudinal restructuring
4. intra-organizational bargaining.

Distributive bargaining:

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It involves negotiating over the distribution of surplus. Under it, the economic issues like
wages, salaries and bonus are discussed. In distributive bargaining, one party’s gain is
another party’s loss. This is most commonly explained in terms of a pie. Distributive
bargaining tends to be more competitive. This type of bargaining is also known as
conjunctive bargaining.

Integrative bargaining:

This involves negotiation of an issue on which both the parties may gain, or at least neither
party loses. For example, representatives of employer and employee sides may bargain over
the better training programmes or a better job evaluation method. Here, both the parties are
trying to make more of something. In general, it tends to be more cooperative than
distributive bargaining. This type of bargaining is also known as cooperative bargaining.

Attitudinal restructuring:

This involves shaping and reshaping some attitudes like trust or distrust, friendliness or
hostility between employees and management. When there is a backlog of bitterness between
both the parties, attitudinal restructuring is required to maintain smooth and harmonious
industrial relations. It develops a bargaining environment and creates trust and cooperation
among the parties.

Intra-organizational bargaining:

It generally aims at resolving internal conflicts. This is a type of maneuvering to achieve

consensus with the workers and management; even within the union, there may be
differences between groups. For example, skilled workers may feel that they are neglected or
women workers may feel that their interests are not looked after properly.

Collective Bargaining Process

Step 1: Prepare

This phase involves composition of a negotiation team. Negotiation team should consist of
representatives of both parties with adequate knowledge and skills for negotiation. The team
then determines whether there is any reason to meet at all. If there is, the team should
however have a knowledge and understanding of the possible arising issues for example
working conditions, production norms and other relevant conditions.

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Step 2: Discuss
The parties decides the ground rules that will guide the negotiations. An environment of
mutual trust and understanding is created so that the collective bargaining agreement is
reached.

Step 3: Propose

An initial opening of statements and the possible actions that exist to resolve them
Opinions of both parties is sought

Step 4: Bargain
In this stage those opinions from the proposed process section are discussed by both
representatives. The area of interest might be remuneration issues, working conditions etc.
The drafting of agreements then commences in this stage. Negotiations are made easier if
both parties have an equal bargaining power

Step 5: Settlement
Once parties are through with the bargaining process, both parties must agree to a common
decision regarding the problem or issue. In this stage an effective joint implementation of the
agreement should flow through shared visions. Strategic planning and negotiated change.

How collective bargaining process promotes harmony

 Acts as an approach to conflict management

It reduces conflicts between the management and the employees as it works on improving
worker’s welfare, employee consultation (so as to make known their grievances to their
employers). Labor agreements are regularly reviewed in order to improve workers’
welfare. For example a case of Roosevelt Girls High School in 2008 when there were
conflicts between management and teachers due to low salaries.

 Helps to minimize discrimination at the work places

The collective bargaining process puts it into agreement for the employer and the Union
not to discriminate against any employee on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation,
religion, color, marital or parental status, age, national origin, political affiliation.

 Encourages decentralization of authority

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 The collective bargaining ensures the promotion of workplace democracy and employee
participation in managerial decision making.

 It helps to clearly spell out management rights.

Since the collective bargaining process involves representatives of both the employer and
employee or the employee and the employer, management rights and responsibilities of
labor and management are clearly defined. This is so because both parties will be given a
lea way to present their views or interests.

 It aids in improving working conditions.

Since both parties would have reached a consensus or a certain level of agreement, this
would mean both parties would be acting towards satisfying the terms and conditions of
the agreement reached by both the employer and employee or their representatives.

 Promote stability and prosperity.

Once people’s grievances would have been addressed and solved, all the tensions would
have been slackened.

 Helps to improve the right to life

It helps in improving workers’ standard of living through just compensation. This is so
because workers will be given fair and proper compensation basing on the agreed terms.

However Collective Bargaining…

 Outsiders Dominance
Due to the dominance of outsiders in trade unionism in the country, there is multiplicity
of unions which are weak and unstable, and do not represent majority of the employees.
Moreover, there are inter-union rivalries, which further hinder the process of collective
bargaining between the labor and the management.
 Political Issues Dominance
In some cases Trade Unions are involved in political affiliations such that they continue
to be dominated by politicians, who use the unions and their members to meet their
political ends. As a result, trade union movement has leaned towards political orientations
rather than collective bargaining. E.g. a case in Zimbabwe during the 2009 union

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 members were being slashed owing to job losses and leaders were using unions more as
launch pads into political positions than to push for workers’ rights (Munyaradzi Gwisai).
 Lack of comprehensive procedures in determining unions
There is a lack of definite procedure to determine which union is to be recognized to
serve as a bargaining agent on behalf of the workers.

Conclusion
Collective bargaining in Zimbabwe plays a pivotal role in promoting relations between
the employees, employers and their representatives in many organizations though in some
cases being affected by political issues and trends in the economic situations.

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QUESTION 33:

There is no love between employer and employee except specific performance. Discuss the
above statement giving practical examples from Zimbabwean organizations.

Introduction
The employment relationship is one that is established whenever employers and employees
work together. Organisations consist of employers and employees who relate to one another.
This is the employment relationship which may be expressed formally by what Rubery et al
(2002) regarded as its cornerstone, namely the contract of employment. The employment
relationship can additionally be defined formally by such means as procedure agreements and
work rules.

Definition of Key Terms

Employee: Refers to a person whose daily work is directed or controlled by the business,
particularly when the method of executing duties is defined and an integral part of day-to-day
operations.
Employer: Is a legal entity that controls and directs a servant or worker under an express or
implied contract of employment and pays (or is obligated to pay) him or her salary or wages
in compensation.
Specific performance: Refers to extraordinary equitable remedy that compels a part to
execute according to the precise terms agreed upon or to execute it substantially so that under
the circumstance, justice will be done between parties.

There is no love between employer and employee

 Existence of trade unions

 Termination of contract of employment as a result of absenteeism - long sick leave, poor
performance
 No work no pay
 Litigations as a result of a contract breach
 Lack of safety clothing and healthcare
 Obligations instigated by the law
 Unfair dismissal from work
 Conflicting interests between employer and employee

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However, despite the above arguments, one can argue for the existence of love relationship
existing between employers and employees mostly due to the social nature of interaction. The
statement that there is no love between employee and employer except specific performance
can be dismissed by the following arguments:

 Mutual Expectations
 Existence of rewards –fringe benefits
 Creation of social groups for social interaction between the management and the
workforce
 Training and development

Conclusion
In a nutshell, it can be viewed from the discussion above that the relationship existing
between the employees and employers is more of a contractual nature, where the worker has
to perform accordingly and the employer also remunerating according to the performance.

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QUESTION 34:

Explain to other students your understanding of the Labor Amendment Number 5 of 2015

Introduction

Labor laws should seek to marry the needs of the employees against conditions of
employment that are sufficiently attractive to encourage persons with necessary resources to
invest in the productive sector. On August 14 2015, a Labor Amendment Bill 2015 was
gazette to align labor laws with section 65 of the Constitution which provide for Labor Rights
as well as to promote productivity and competitiveness of local industry.

Background

 Zuva Case - Between Don Nyamande and Kingstone Donga v Zuva Petroleum (Private)
Limited case SC43/15.
 Following the sale of BP Shell services to Zuva Petroleum, they were transferred to Zuva
on their original positions in terms of section 16 of the Zim Labour Act chapter 28:01.
 On 21st November 2011 Zuva offered them terms of a voluntary retrenchment and the
appellants rejected.
 On 15 December 2011 Zuva served them a compulsory notice of intention to retrench
them.
 They could not agree on the terms of retrenchment and transferred their issue to the
Retrenchment Board whose mandate is to fix on a retrenchment package if the employer
insists to retrench them.
 After 21 days the appellants approached the labor officer claiming that they had been
unfairly dismissed and the officer failed to solve the issue and called for compulsory
arbitration.
 Arbitrator concluded that the termination was unlawful.
 Zuva appealed to the Labour Court and according to section 12B of the act it did not alter
employers’ right to terminate an employment on notice.
 The issue was taken to the Supreme Court saying that Labour court has misdirected itself
and failed to find that this was an unfair dismissal as they said that according to section
12B it’s termination for no reason.

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 Labor Act chapter 28:01 provided that employer’s conduct in terminating a contract of
employment on notice as being an unfair dismissal.
 However the court ruled out through the amendment bill of 2015 that employees contract
can be terminated through notice

Before Amendment
The Principal Act is amendment by the repeal of section 12C of the act. An employer who
wishes to retrench any one or more employees shall

(a) give written notice of his or her intention

1. to the work council established

2. to the employment council if there is no works council

3. to the retrenchment board if there is no works council or employment council

(b) provide the works council or employment council or the retrenchment board details of
every employee on the employer wishes to retrench and of the reasons for the proposed
retrenchment
(c) send a copy of the notice to the retrenchment board

Amendment made to the act

Labor act 28:01 following the ZUVA case on 17 July 2015

Termination of contract

In terms of section 12(4a) of the Labor Amendment Act No. 5 of 2015, an employer’s right to
terminate an employee’s contract of employment on notice is now strictly limited to four
scenarios namely

(a) termination in terms of an employment code or, in the absence of an employment code, in
terms of the model code made under section 101(9); or
(b) the employer and employee mutually agree in writing to the termination of the contract;
or
(c) the employee was engaged for a period of fixed duration or for the performance of some
specific service; or
(d) pursuant to retrenchment, in accordance with section 12C

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Minimum Package of Retrenchment

Section number 12C of the Labor act 2006 stipulated that compulsory employee retrenchment
can be done upon six months notice or majority of over 50% employees signed or approval
by the retrenchment board and section 13 stipulated that the retrenchment must be followed
by a retrenchment benefit. If not so the retrenchment package is to be the 3 months pay plus 1
month relocation fee per year served.

However the amendment stipulated that only half the salary of a month is to be paid per year
served which triggered more job loses for the employers may terminate jobs willingly

Exemption on the payment basis

Subsection 3 of number 5 allowed the employer to apply for exemption on payment if not
affording to pay the package. If the retrenchment board didn’t respond within 14 days is to be
taken as application success called exemption by default.

On the actual fact the amendment should not give a room for exemption which favors the
employer thereby causing willing retrenchments.

Section 4a also propose payment scheme by the employer yet the employee must be paid his
benefits in full and go.

Redundancy of the retrenchment board

Work councils, employment councils and the retrenchment board have been rendered white
elephants or lame ducks when it comes to retrenchment of employees in Zimbabwe as they
no longer enjoy the legal power to approve or not to approve the retrenchment of employees.

Under the former retrenchment law, the retrenchment board was the final arbiter on whether
or not to approve the retrenchment and the applicable package. In the past, a retrenchment
process could be long and cumbersome but under the new law, it has been made simple and
fast.
In the same vein, the retrenchment board now has a limited say on the retrenchment package
as its role is now confined to dealing with applications for exemptions in default of
employment councils as provided for in terms section 12C(3) of the Labor Act.

There is no longer a need for employers to seek any approval of retrenchment as that
approval is already given in terms of section 12C of the Labor Act.

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Those employers who approach the retrenchment board other than in circumstances of
applying for exemption from paying the minimum retrenchment package under section
12C(3) of the Labor Act, are not legally obliged to do so but simply do so out of courtesy or a
mere formality

Analysis and recommendations

The amendment is bad in Clause (2) which sets out a minimum retrenchment package of one
month’s salary for employees who have saved for two years and an equivalent lesser
proportion for employees who saved for a lesser period. The amendment is ambiguously
worded to hide the clear intention that a retrenchment package is simply two weeks’ salary
for each year served.

How can the inefficiency of the retrenchment board or its administrative challenges become
an approval of an exemption by default? This is only serving the employer’s interest.

We propose the following:

Subsection (3) must be repealed. There should be no exemption to the payment of a minimum
retrenchment package. The retrenched employee must simply be paid what is due and leave.
There is no consideration of other components of a retrenchment package like severance pay
and relocation allowance.

International Labor Standards (Termination of Employment Convention No 158, 1982)

require payment of adequate compensation. This compensation is very little and will license
employers to terminate a contract willingly.

Conclusion
The Labor Amendment Act number 5 of 2015 favored the employer rather than employees
thus as a result thousands of employees lost their jobs because it allowed deliberate
termination on notice and also reduced retrenchment packages and relocation allowance
removed.

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QUESTION 35:
Explain to other students your understanding of the ZUVA Petroleum case which triggered
the firing of employees on 3 months’ notice.

Introduction

The full bench of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe comprising of five appellate judges
delivered a unanimous ruling on 17th July 2015 which has important implications for
employment law in Zimbabwe. The ruling deals with the contentious question of whether an
employer can, for no reason or fault on the employee’s part, terminate the employee’s
contract of employment by giving the employee an obligatory notice in terms of the contract
of employment, or in terms of the Labour Act (Chapter 28:01) where the contract provides a
less favorable notice period.

What led to the rise…? FACTS

Don Nyamande and Kingstone Donga (the appellants), were employed by BP Shell,
Nyamande was Supply and Logistics Manager, and Donga was the Finance manager. BP
Shell sold its services as a going concern to Zuva Petroleum, the respondent in the matter. A
transfer of undertaking was thus concluded in terms of section 16 of the Zimbabwean Labor
Act (Chapter 28:01). The appellants were consequently transferred to Zuva Petroleum on the
same terms and conditions of service that they enjoyed under BP Shell.

On 21st November 2011 Zuva Petroleum offered all its employees, who included the
appellants, (Don Nyamande and Kingstone Donga) a voluntary retrenchment package. The
terms were rejected by the employees, the appellants included.

On 15th December 2011 the respondent (Zuva Petroleum) then served each of the employees
with a compulsory notice of its intention to retrench them. The appellants and the respondent
could not agree on the terms of retrenchment and thus referred their dispute to the
Retrenchment Board.

On 16th May 2012, the Ministry of Labour and Social services directed the parties to carry
out further negotiations regarding a fair retrenchment package for another 21 days.

Two days into the twenty-one day period, the respondent wrote letters to the appellants,
advising them of the termination of their contracts of employment on notice in terms of their

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contracts of employment. The termination was with effect from 1st June 2012. (15 day
notice)

Z.P The respondent paid cash in lieu of their serving notice and termination of employment
relationship contract.

Aggrieved by this, the appellants approached a labour officer contending that they had been
unfairly dismissed. The Labour officer failed to resolve the matter and referred it for
compulsory arbitration. The appointed arbitrator concluded that the termination of the
contracts was unlawful because appellants had not been dismissed in terms of an employment
code of conduct.

The respondent appealed to the Labour Court. The labour court ruled in favour of the
respondent, in terms of section 12B of the Act which dealt with dismissals of an employee,
did not alter the employer’s right under the common law to terminate an employment contract
on notice.

Aggrieved by the decision of the Labour Court, the appellants appealed to the Supreme Court
to review their case.

Supreme Court interpretation of the law

Two section of the law were under scrutiny, section 12(4) and section 12B (a) and (b)

Section 12(4)
Prescribes the applicable notice period in relation to the length of a contract of employment,
to be given by either party on termination of employment

Section 12B (2) (a) and (b)

Provide that an employee will be unfairly dismissed if an employer fails to show that the
employee was dismissed in terms of an employment code, or in the absence of the
employment code, in terms of the model code of conduct made in terms of the Act.

Contents of section 12 B
12B Dismissal
Every employee has the right not to be unfairly dismissed.
An employee is unfairly dismissed if, subject to subsection (3), the employer fails to show
that he dismissed the employee in terms of an employment code; or in the absence of an

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employment code, the employer shall comply with the model code made in terms of section
101(9).

An employee is deemed to have been unfairly dismissed:

If the employee terminated the contract of employment with or without notice because the
employer deliberately made continued employment intolerable for the employee; if, on
termination of an employment contract of fixed duration, the employee had a legitimate
expectation of being re-engaged another person was engaged instead of the employee

Court Ruling

The court dismissed the appeal, it held that:

1. The employer was protected by the common law right to terminate a contract of
employment on notice. Such rights can only be limited, abolished or regulated by an Act
of Parliament of a statutory instrument that is clearly intra vires an Act of Parliament’
2. That Section 12B of the Act does not abolish the employer’s common law right to
terminate employment on notice in terms of an employment contract
3. That in the past, the Supreme Court had, for instance, held that where the relationship
between the employer and the employee had deteriorated to untenable levels through no
fault of either party, the relationship could be terminated on notice.
4. It was noted that in terms of section 8 of the labor act, termination of an employment
contract was not included under unfair labor practices.
5. That section 12(4) explicitly stated that the right to terminate on notice should apply to
both the employer and the employee, and no explanation had been advanced on why it
should apply to the employee alone, and not the employer as well.
6. That in the ultimate there are many forms of termination of employment which include
termination on notice, termination by way of dismissal, and termination by way of
retrenchment

Effects of the Court Ruling

The effect of the ruling was immediately felt with close to 25 000 permanent employees
having their contracts of employment terminated on notice in the following 45 days with no
retrenchment package being paid.
Employers hailed the judgment that it had brought natural justice in the labor market. The

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ruling faced strong opposition from trade unions who argued that the ruling had turned
permanent employees into temporary employees.

The ruling would affect banks who had given employees advance loan in the understanding
that their jobs were secure

Important Amendments
A new section 12(4a) was inserted which outlawed the employer’s common law right to
terminate a contract of employment on notice unless the termination is in terms of a
registered employment code of conduct, or is by mutual consent of the parties, or if the
contract is a fixed term contract, or if the termination is in pursuance of a retrenchment
exercise.
Government Intervention
The Government of Zimbabwe, through the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social
Welfare, swiftly intervened to stem the wave of terminations by introducing a Labour
Amendment Bill.

Parliament was urgently recalled from its recess. The Bill was introduced on 18th August
2015 and barely two days later, had the Bill sailed through the lower and upper houses of
Parliament despite an adverse legal report on some of the provisions of the Bill by the
Parliamentary Legal Committee. On 26th August 2015 the Bill was gazetted into law as the
Labour Amendment Act 5, 2015 (“the Amendment Act”) and immediately came into effect.

The old retrenchment provisions in the Act were repealed and replaced by a new section 12C
which sets out a mandatory minimum retrenchment package to be paid by an employer as
being not less than 1 month’s pay for each 2 years of service by the employee and
proportionate payments for lesser periods of service.

A “transitional” provision was inserted, which backdates payment of the mandatory

minimum retrenchment package to all permanent employees whose contracts of employment
were terminated on notice following the Supreme Court ruling of 17th July 2015.

A “transitional” provision was inserted, which backdates payment of the mandatory

minimum retrenchment package to all permanent employees whose contracts of employment
were terminated on notice following the Supreme Court ruling of 17th July 2015.

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Conclusion
The Court ruling is indeed a “landmark” decision in many respects. It elicited strong
reactions from both employers and employees, as well as the Government, even though the
Court has, in the past, come to similar conclusions on related matters. This can be explained
by the fact that the 17th July 2015 ruling was highly publicised in the media, and also that in
its past judgements, the Supreme Court’s position was not as emphatic and clear-cut as the
Court pronounced in the Zuva case. Lastly, and more importantly, the ruling has also led to a
change of the employment law landscape in Zimbabwe with the enactment of the Labour
Amendment Act 5, 2005.

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QUESTION 31:

Discuss the restrictions on the right to strike placed by the Labour Act in Zimbabwe and
explain two circumstances where the Labour Act places no restriction whatsoever on the
right to strike.

Introduction
The right to strike in Zimbabwe has been a contentious issue in both the public and private
sectors. Those who have previously been engaged in strike or industrial action have been
victims of decisions taken by employers either to dismiss them or harshly reprimand them.
The presentation established that it is generally difficult to strike in Zimbabwe as the
procedures are cumbersome and the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare
had the prerogative of issuing a disposal order that would call off the strike as provided for by
the law if he/she deemed it fit to do so. There are exceptional cases/circumstances where
strikes could take place without restrictions.

Restrictions on the Right to Strike

 Collective right not an individual right

The Workers committee or Trade union should get consent of at least 51% of its members
(constituency) who should append their signatures to commit themselves and demonstrate
that they are in unison or agreement. A list of members who attended that meeting should
be attached to the minutes of the meeting which resolved to embark on industrial action if
their grievances were not urgently addressed. An individual cannot exercise the right to
strike.
 Letter/Notice of Intent.
Writing a letter of intent [Section XIII-104(2)] which should be given to the employer
notifying management about the intention to conduct an industrial action (strike). Usually
a notice period of 14 days is given to party against whom the collective job action is to be
taken specifying the grounds for the intended collective job action. A copy of the letter
can also be copied to the trade union and the relevant national employment councils.
 Show Cause Order.
The Labour Act [Section XIII-106] Minister, acting on his own initiative or upon the
application of any person affected or likely to be affected by the collective job action,
may issue an order calling upon any party to the dispute concerned to show cause why a

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 disposal order should not be made in relation thereto. The Minister may direct that
pending the determination of the dispute by the appropriate authority, the collective job
action concerned be terminated, postponed, suspended or reduced in scope.
 Disposal Order.
On the return day of a show cause order the appropriate authority concerned shall, at the
time and place specified in the order, inquire into the matter and shall afford the parties
concerned an opportunity of making representations in the matter. The Minister Of Public
Service, Labour and Social Welfare can issue a disposal order [Section XIII-107] to call
off the strike especially if he or she feels that the service being disrupted constitute an
essential service or may contribute to economy.
 Labor Relations Officers
A labor relations officer [Labor Act Section XII-93], acting on his own initiative to
redress any dispute or unfair labour practice or upon reference to him by any person of a
dispute or unfair labour practice may attempt to redress or rectify the dispute or unfair
labour practice through conciliation, mediation or, if agreed by the parties, reference to
arbitration
 Compulsory Arbitration
Use of forced arbitration (e.g. use of the Labour court) could be effected by the Labour
relations officer as a way of trying to resolve the impasse. However this could take a lot
of time as some cases can take even more than 2 years before finalisation owing to
serious backlog of pending labour cases worsened by shortage of judges and prosecutors
etc.
 Public Service
There are two main groups of government workers, PUBLIC SERVICE and OTHER
SPECIAL SERVICE GROUPS. There is no provision for the right to strike on employees
in the Public service, Uniformed forces, Army, Police are not allowed to go on strike
according to the Public Service Act 16:04 and even the Labour Act 28:01(Amended
August 2015).
 Essential Services
This is defined so widely so as to cover virtually every industrial activity in Zimbabwe.
Furthermore the Minister of Labour has power to declare further essential services.

The above demonstrates why in Zimbabwe, it is very difficult to engage in a collective job
action e.g a strike since the procedures are prohibitive as enshrined in the Labour Act 28:01

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and even made worse by the powers given to the Minister of Public Service, Labour and
Social Welfare, who can use his/her discretion ‘to call off the industrial action.’

Two circumstances where the Labour Act places no restrictions on the right to strike
“In defence to an immediate threat to the existence of a workers committee or registered or
certified trade union.”

‘Where workers strike against threat to health and safety at the workplace.’ This is where
there is high risk of exposure to accidents, hazardous working conditions or threat to loss of
human life. E.g. mining workers.

Conclusion
It is very difficult to strike in Zimbabwe as the period that the aggrieved (intending) group
has to wait before complying with the procedures, is very long relative to other countries, the
Minister of labour is given too much powers including his prerogative to calling off a strike,
the civil servants not allowed and use of repressive means of applying repressive laws like
AIPPA and POSA by the police.

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QUESTION 5:

Discuss the positive and negative effects of worker involvement and participation as it
applies to your organisation

Introduction

Employee involvement and participation exists in organizations that intentionally establish

work cultures, systems and processes to encourage and make use of employee input and
feedback. Employee involvement and participation in workplace decision making has
become increasingly common in early 21st Century organizations such as Econet as
companies see benefits in keeping employees at all levels actively engaged in core activities.
This is also due to the rise in participatory management and employee empowerment.

Definition of terms

Worker involvement: Worker involvement refers to a variety of processes and structures

which enable and encourage employees directly or indirectly to contribute and influence
decision-making in the firm and in the wider society.

Employee participation: Ackers, Wilkinson & Dundon (2006) defines employee

participation as a process in which decisions in an organization are shared among individuals
who are otherwise hierarchically unequal. It also refers to the opportunities for employees to
take part in decisions that affect their work, either in their immediate job or in relation to
wider company issues like organizational participation. It is a pluralist and a collective
approach. It aims to commitment to organizational objectives and relies on the maintenance
of management control.

Positive effects of worker involvement and participation

Competitive edge

Participation and employee involvement are a key aspect of total quality management. The
main aim of involving employees in quality management is because they are the drivers of
quality and it is through their commitment that quality is enhanced. Quality is also a driver of
competitive advantage, when an organization produces quality goods which are acceptable on
the market it gains competitive advantage and us also implemented through worker
involvement and participation using quality circles. Todays’ organizations are driven by

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customer needs and demand on the market is determined by the needs of consumers and
customers can be satisfied if they get goods that they expect which perform according their
expectation and the secret about what they want is quality, which make it a competitive
advantage.

Enhance profitability

An increase in productivity which is enhanced through worker involvement and worker

participation can enhance profitability level of an organization. Anne et al. (2008) on the
other side perceives the profit distribution to effectively be enhanced when combined with
the participation of the employee in the process of management. When an organization
increases its level of production, cost of production may be reduced and the organization can
enjoy economies of scale thus, triggering profit level of an organization. Gallup found that
employees are more productive and contribute more financially to the organisation if they
feel involved in and are committed to the organisation. (Gallup cited in Levinson, 2007)

Reduced resistance to management actions

Resistance to the actions of the management is reduced since workers are involved in the
decision-making process as well as in making decisions for the whole organization, so there
will be aware of everything that is to take place in the organization hence limiting chances of
resistance. Luthans and Peterson (2002) found that employees who are engaged in their
organisation and their work are more likely to respond positively to their managers,
demonstrate good performance and achieve success.

Greater job interest and satisfaction

When employees are to make decisions, they will develop job interest in them. Workers will
view work as play therefore they will perform their duties wholeheartedly thereby job
satisfaction is achieved.

Enhanced motivation

Employee empowerment cultivates innovation, as employees that have a stake in company

growth and sustainability will offer more ideas and problem-solving solutions when obstacles
arise. As the employee meets challenges or finds improvements in policies, procedures or
products, it will foster growth and more critical and imaginative thinking. Employees can

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offer different perspectives than managers and be able to offer a creative solution not
otherwise considered.

Increased productivity

Both quality management practices also translate into increased productivity. Employees with
an investment in the best interest of the organization increase their role in the company and
foster a stronger work ethic. When employees are given independence and expected to be
more self-sufficient, they eventually become more efficient as they learn to navigate their
responsibilities with minimal interference and/or relying less on managerial staff for
direction. Effective and high performing “organizations have a culture that encourages
employee involvement hence employees are more willing to get involved in goal setting,
decision-making or problem-solving activities that results in higher employee performance”
(Robinson, 2004, 47). This allows managerial staff more time to tend to their own
responsibilities other than giving assignments to subordinates and decreases
micromanagement, which minimizes productivity.

Innovation

Employee empowerment cultivates innovation, as employees that have a stake in company

growth and sustainability will offer more ideas and problem-solving solutions when obstacles
arise. As the employee meets challenges or finds improvements in policies, procedures or
products, it will foster growth and more critical and imaginative thinking. Employees can
offer different perspectives than managers and be able to offer a creative solution not
otherwise considered.

Low labour turnover

Organisations with higher engagement levels tend to have lower employee turnover, higher
productivity, higher total shareholder returns and better financial performance (Baumruk,
2006).

Employee commitment

Demourouti et al. (2001, cited in Sonnentag, 2003) found that work engagement is indeed
positively related to organisational commitment.

Quality management

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Employee involvement is very important in any Total Quality Management as it is a system
where in employees are encouraged to use their expertise and knowledge to suggest methods
for improvements in their working areas. These suggestions could relate to improvements in
the job and the product. These days’ markets are driven by customer demands and there is
need to involve employees in decision making who by the end of the day brings in new ideas
to improve quality of goods produced.

Negative effects of worker involvement and participation

Team disintegration

There is a division of group that may be caused by lack of confidence in others and it will
cause the formation of the smaller groups that will be less productive when teamwork is a
major concern.

Some employees are louder than others

Other employees have more confidence than others that is they tend to override others they
air out their points that will counterproductive to the organization.

Employees may harbour unfounded grudges against each other or the company

There will be some grudge within that will be caused by when other points are not valued
when they are aired out

Lack of commitment by employees

Other workers in a team setup plan they tend to be reluctant that is they will focus less on the
matter on hand.

Employees can present false interest

Britt (2003) examined the engagement of U.S. Army rangers and discovered that those who
were the most engaged with their work, the ones who ranked work relevant values as the
most important, also reported being the most demoralised when they were faced with the
obstacles to high performance. It is suggested as a result that such individuals are more prone
to leave the organisation in the question as these blocks in the way of them engaging with
their work are of the organisation’s own making and so outside of the employee’s control.

Risk of security

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This indicates the increased security risks of getting more people involved in key decisions
that is sharing critical data and information with a larger number of employees. Some of the
information needed to make decisions is of a sensitive nature and the company may have
concern about employees talking about it outside of the organization. The more people that
know sensitive information, the higher the risk of it getting out.

Employees don’t know what it takes to run a company

Workers may be less informed than managers and the premises upon which they make their
decisions may be different.

Communication complexity

More lines of communication and the potential for inconsistent decision making are the
negative effects of employee involvement and participation systems in an organisation. When
more employees have input and decision-making ability, more communication is necessary to
make certain decisions that are consistent across the organization. This consistency is critical
to brand recognition and consistency. Managers may have a hard time monitoring decisions
and activities with employee involvement to protect against negative consequences and to
restrict the potential for chaos.

Manager employee boundary

One potential challenge of encouraging employee involvement and participation is the risk
that the line of distinction between the management level and employee level becomes
blurred. Though managers may value employee involvement and participation, a disciplined
structure with clear reporting lines have long been vital to stability in organizations. Allowing
employees to share ideas and make decisions without having them push the envelope and try
to take on responsibilities that are reserved for management levels is a real risk.

Time consuming

Participation is time consuming, and if decisions are made by groups, reaction to changing
environments may be particularly slow.

Conclusion

Concisely, it can thus be concluded that the participation and involvement of employees is of
paramount importance as it has a more positive impact on the organisation and its

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performance. This can be noted by the results of employee involvement and participation
such as improvements in employee commitment, motivation, increased productivity etc.

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QUESTION 16:
According to the VRIO framework ,which type of human resources can be a source of
competitive advantage for a firm ?How can the application of VRIO transform HR function
from being a cost into a strategic function that contributes to the performance of an
organisation?

Introduction
According to strategic human resources, the VRIO framework can be source of competitive
advantage for a firm. Popularly referred to as the VRIO framework, the resource-based view
of an organization determines the value of human resources for the organization on the basis
of four criteria—value, rareness, imitability, and organization (VRIO). Employees can
become a source of sustained competitive advantage for an organization if these four criteria
are met.

Definition of key terms

VRIO Framework: Barney and Hesterly 2006 described the VRIO framework as a tool for
evaluating the competitive potential of the resources and capabilities of an organisation. It is
stated that VRIO stands for questions one must ask about a resource or capability to
determine it competitive potential.

Human resource function: It is a department which helps an organisation deliver its

corporate strategy and objectives by effectively managing people and performance. It
attempts to improve the current or future performance of an employee by increasing the
ability through educating and training

Strategic Function: Refers to an organisational plan for HR, marketing, research and
development and other functional areas. To be effective it must obtain, develop, maintain,
retain the right combination of workers to facilitate the company’s goals.

Value
The value of employees may be increased through training of employee to acquire new skills.
The employees will be able to neutralize the threats at the same time exploiting the

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opportunities from the environment. Empowerment programs, continuous improvement
efforts, total quality initiatives, quality circles, etc., are some of the initiatives that are used by
organizations to increase the contribution of the employee on the bottom-line performance.

Rare
Value alone is not enough, the skills of the employees must be rare. Thus, an organization
should try to ensure that it has an edge over competing organizations in terms of the skills,
knowledge, and abilities of its employees.

Imitability
Employees provide competitive advantage to an organization when their characteristics
cannot be easily imitated by competitors.

Organization
Finally, for an employee to provide competitive advantage to an organization, it is important
for the organization to have its systems and practices in place that allow employees
characteristics to be exploited fully.

Conclusion
To sum up, the VRIO framework’s ultimate goal is to ensure that the structure of human
resources that contributes to creation of value cannot be taken advantage of by competitors.
Considering employees as assets has implications for adopting an investment perspective on
human resources. It is important to take this perspective on human assets since other physical
assets, such as technology, facilities, etc., can be easily imitated by competitors.

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