MAINTENANCE OF HUMAN RESOURCES

Maintenance is the supportive action program that encourages continuance and stability of the organization. It includes orientation, physical working conditions, motivation, compensation administration, performance evaluation, management-labor relations and movement Orientation assists the newly hired worker in his adjustment to the new work environment. When properly done, it decreases turnover of personnel during the trying probation period and facilitates learning and growing on the new job. Physical working conditions, although considered hygiene factors, have to be in the best state since the physical affects the psychological realm of work. The lighting, temperature, facilities, equipment and tools are to be inspected and maintained continuously for ease, comfort and safety of employees. Motivation, a very elusive dimension that propels workers to think, feel and act in certain ways is a very important ingredient in work behaviour. Management should know and understand its nature to elicit maximum positive performance among workers. Being very pervasive, it permeates all their activities thus making its analysis a more difficult task. Different workers at different levels of the organization have varying needs. A perceptive and knowledgeable management endeavours to determine and meet these needs instead of homogenizing them and utilizing standard and uniform measures for all. The various theories of motivation to be valuable in a work setting should be applied in light of Filipino needs and value system since motivation carries a lot of cultural underpinnings. Compensation administration and performance evaluation are very closely related to each other and are the most sensitive programs under the maintenance function. The former involves pay and benefits which provides the basic needs of man. Thus, elicits the greatest concern and invites poignant complaints when maladministered. Policies and practices of both programs should be carefully considered by the entire staff through their representatives. Compensation includes wages and benefits and covers broadly programs and services afforded to the workers. The reward structure includes intrinsic and extrinsic items which provide motivation and incentives to the employees. The intrinsic factors which are the real motivators include participation in decision making, greater job freedom and discretion, more responsibility, more interesting work, opportunities for personal growth and development, and diversity of activities. Extrinsic components include direct and indirect compensation and non-financial provisions. Factors affecting the planning, implementation and evaluation of the compensation administration program are institutional, environmental and personal. The establishment of such a program follows certain steps in order to be systematic, logical and effective like determination of a clear cut philosophy of the program, job analysis, job evaluation, survey of pay policies, determination of labor supply and demand and formulation of overall compensation policies. Organizational effectiveness is determined by the degree to which objectives are achieved. The extent to which these objectives are attained is reflective of the contribution of each employee and which is his real and actual performance. Hence, performance evaluation is the appraisal of the attainment of these objectives. Other criteria like seniority, punctuality, loyalty, good relations and other characteristics and dimensions are just problems or substitutes of performance. They are not performance per se although they may help the employee perform. Reward is linked with performance; reward is and should be anchored on performance. The evaluation process takes some definite activities in order to be organized and systematic. Evaluation can be conducted by the employee himself (self-rating), colleagues or co-workers (peer rating), supervisor or manager (superior rating), and by employees (subordinate/client rating). Each group uses different criteria set up and approved by both management and employees.

Evaluation is just as good as the rater. Hence, training of raters is prescribed for reliability of results. Methods of evaluation range from the graphic rating scale, weighted checklist, ranking, forced distribution, essay and evaluation, to critical-incident technique.

Much concern over productivity has been shown in both private and public sectors in the Philippines. Its relationship with performance evaluation has been a national topic for discussion and experimentation. Productivity improvement programs like the quality circle have been tried in some organizations with some success. Others have failed. Management-labor relations has been more an area of conflict than harmony in the last two decades of Philippine business and industrial history. This interaction between the two primary groups may be harmonized in spite of the differences in interests if both truly realize and internalize their superordinate goal and that no one group can substitute the other; both complement and supplement the other. The 1987 Philippine Constitution, the Labor Code and labor laws are supposedly the guiding bible of management-labor relations. In them are enshrined the rights, duties and responsibilities of workers and management. Contents of such statutes and documents need teeth for their implementation. The right of the workers in the public sector to self-organize has been mandated just very recently. Ideological underpinnings have characterized the union movement and extremist groups pose grave threats to the nations efforts toward economic recovery and political stability. Strategies have been attempted by the tripartite group of management, labor and the government to achieve the much needed collaborative instead of adversarial relations. The historic Accord on Industry Harmony signed by their representatives in April 1987 is hoped to strike the real beginning of peace and security which underlies the nations socio-economic prosperity and political stability. The shifting of employees toward different points at the right time and in the right places and which may or may not involve change in pay, status and job conditions is termed movement. It includes promotion (vertical), transfer (horizontal or outward), demotion (downward), separation like layoff, discharge, resignation, retirement and involuntary quit (outward). Management of the movement function requires knowledge of and attention to important dimensions and details like general and specific reasons for shifts, relationships between movement, guidelines to resolve, if not even prevent, attendant problems, and the operational aspects of the program.

Shiela R. Klodzinski
Student Ed. D.

Dr. Carolino Mordeno

Professor

Human Resources Management (Educ 613)