Merit Rating and Job Evaluation
MERIT RATING: Merit rating aims at evaluating the performance of workers. Main objective of merit rating is to reward employee on the basis of efficiency and merit. Merit rating brings out the comparative worth of workers. The traits generally considered for determining merit and worth of workers are as under:
1) Education Qualification and knowledge
2) Skill and experience
3) Attitude to the work
4) Quality of work done
5) Efficiency
6) Regularity
7) Integrity
8) Reliability
9) Qualities like leadership, initiative, self-confidence and sense of judgment
10) Discipline
11) Cooperation
The above traits are allotted with
points and total points scored on all traits determine the worth of workers. The employees may be rated
individually as per the pints they
score and they may be put in groups based on their common scores of points.
Importance of Merit rating: Merit is a valuable tool considered to
be important for human resource measurement.
Merit rating has the following advantages:
(1) It helps to know the individual
worker’s worth and traits; this helps the
supervisor to assign the tasks in which the worker is proficient.
(2) It points out traits in which the
workers are not proficient. The workers will
have an opportunity to improve by suitable training.
(3) It helps in increasing wages and
promotion opportunities.
(4) It helps to stimulate the
self-confidence of workers as it recognizes the merit and worth of workers.
Job
Evaluation: It is necessary for the management of any
organization to establish proper wage
and salary structure for various jobs. For doing this in a scientific manner,
it is necessary to determine the
relative value of jobs and hence a job evaluation is done. Job evaluation is a technique of analysis
and assessment of jobs to determine their relative value within the firm. It aims at providing a rational and equitable
basis for differential salaries and
wages for different classes of workers. Job evaluation has the following
objectives.
a) It helps in developing a systematic
and rational wage structure as well as job structure.
b)
Job evaluation aims at removing the controversies and disputes
relating to salary between the
employers and employees. Thus the employees and also the employer remain satisfied.
c) Another important objective of job
evaluation is to bring fairness and stability in the wage and salary structure so as to ensure full cooperation of
workers in implementing various policies
of the employers.
d) Job evaluation discloses
characteristics and conditions relating to different jobs. This is very useful at the time of recruiting
of workers as only suitable workers can be recruited.
Methods of
Job Evaluation: Methods of job evaluation are as follows.
a)
Point Ranking Method: In
this method each job is analyzed in terms of various job factors or characteristics. The characteristics are skills
required, efforts involved, working
conditions, hazards, responsibility and so on. In other words, the job factors are the requirements needed for
performing the job effectively. Each job factor is given weightage or points depending upon its value for the job. For
example, for certain jobs, maximum
value is assigned to experience while for some jobs, education may be the most crucial factor. Finally, each job
is ranked in the order of points or weights secured by them. The wage structure can be suitably designed according to
the points assigned to each job.
b) Ranking Method: In this method, jobs are ranked in order of
importance on the basis of skills required, experience requirements, working
conditions etc. Jobs are rearranged in an order, which can be either from the
lowest to the highest or in the reverse. Wage scales are determined in terms of
ranks. Though this method is quite simple to operate and less costly as well as
easy for understanding, it is suitable when the size of the organization is
small and jobs are few and well defined. In a large organization, where jobs
are quite complex, this method is not beneficial.
c) Grading Method: This method is an improvement over the ranking
method. Under this method, each job is analyzed in terms of a predetermined
grade and then assigned a grade or class. Grades are established after making
an investigation of job factors, such as complexity in the job, supervision,
responsibility, education etc.
Time and Motion Study
The study of time and motion is
essential for designing an incentive system. Time study determines the time to
be spent on the job. Standard time is the time that should be taken for
completing a particular job under standard or normal working conditions. For
fixation of standard time, motion study is necessary. Thus, the motion study
precedes the time study. Motion study means dividing the job into fundamental
elements or basic operations of the job or process and studying them in detail
to eliminate the unnecessary elements or motions. After investigation all
movements in a job, process or operation, the motion study aims at finding out
the most scientific and systematic way of performing the job. After eliminating
unnecessary motions, the time that should be taken to perform these motions is
decided with the help of a stop-watch. In the time so fixed, some allowance is
added in the same for normal idle time, which is due to fatigue, change of job,
change of tools, preventive maintenance of machines and so on. Thus standard
time for a job or process is arrived at.