Fill in the blank:
In small organisations, ______ may perform all duties related to employees’ salaries, welfare and working conditions.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → managers
Option (1) labour welfare officers — Incorrect. Labour welfare officers came with the trade union movement, as a link between owners and workers. Their role was limited to bare minimum welfare activities. So they never handled all duties of employees, and in small organisations these duties go to the managers.
Option (2) personnel officers — Incorrect. Personnel officers came with the factory system. They were given the job of hiring, selection and placement. Salaries, welfare and working conditions were not their job, so they do not fill the blank.
Option (3) human resource specialists — Incorrect. Human resource specialists work in a separate human resource department. Such a department is formed only when an organisation grows and employs more people.
Option (4) managers — Correct. A small organisation has no separate department for people. So its managers themselves look after salaries, welfare and working conditions. Staffing is a function that every manager performs.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “Staffing as part of Human Resource Management … It is the responsibility of all managers to directly deal with and select people to work for the organisation. When the manager performs the staffing function his role is slightly limited. Some of these responsibilities will include placing the right person on the right job, introducing new employees to the organisation, training employees and improving their performance, developing their abilities, maintaining their morale and protecting their health and physical conditions. In small organisations, managers may perform all duties related to employees salaries, welfare and working conditions. But as organisations grow and number of persons employed increases, a separate department called the human resource department is formed which has specialists in managing people. The management of human resource is a specialised area which requires the expertise of many people. The number of human resource specialists and size of this department gives an indication of the size of the business as well. For a very large company, the Human Resources Department itself will contain specialists for each function of this department. …” |