HR Trends Research Articles

Recruitment & Selection Process of a Leading Telecom Company

This paper presents the detailed analysis of recruitment and selection of a leading telecom company. The process of selection consists of three stages which are recruitment, screening and selection. The research methodology uses data collection, sampling, and data analysis. The initial research has been done using Observation, Questionnaire, and Personal interaction. Further, newspapers clippings (Regular Articles on Current HR Trends in HT Power Jobs area of Hindustan Times) have also been used to conclude the results.

RECENT HR PRACTICES: A TRANSITION TOWARDS ORGANISATIONAL TRANSFORMATION

Today the world of work is rapidly shifting. Human Resource Management (HRM), as a part of organization, must be prepared to deal with effects of varying world of work. Thus, for the HR people it is all about comprehending the ramification of globalization, corporate downsizing, changing skill requirements, the contingent work force, work-force diversity, continuous improvement initiatives, decentralized work sites, re-engineering and employee involvement. Companies today are having a global mix of the employees which requires understanding of the employees and their mindset as it is a tough task for HRD. Human Resource Management is a course of bringing people & organization together, so that the objectives of each other are met. The organizations in Indian are witnessing a change in systems, management cultures and philosophy due to the global alliance of Indian Organization. As globalization has been a challenging concern for the organization because IHRM (International Human Resource Management) has placed significant stress on number of functions & responsibilities, such as orientation, relocation, translation services to help employees adapt to new and different milieu outside their own country. Hence forth, the essential attention must be taken by HR Managers in devising procedures, maintaining the relationship, policies, motivational strategies, and stressing on value in administration. HR people need to do a lot of things in this regard. At the end HRD plays a vital role as a planner, initiator and executor in every organization. The paper thus discusses few emerging concepts, trends and practices of the HRM like tapping skills anytime & anywhere, managing people as a workforce of one, the rise of the extended workforce, HR driving the agile organization, reconfiguring the global talent landscape, workforce on demand, HR and people analytics, data driven and social media recruiting, HR technology solutions as enabler etc. The paper highlights on few of the most key HR initiatives and trends which the HRM function has to take care so as to make an organisation sustainable and gain success.

HR outsourcing trends in Malaysia: the undetected tiger

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to provide deeper and broader insights into human resource outsourcing (HRO) trends and practices specific to the Malaysian context.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from HR managers through a questionnaire-based survey, using convenient sampling with random selection.FindingsHRO practices were found to have evolved into second-generation outsourcing, with considerable potential to grow further in the future. Firm size and sector had little or no effect on the degree of HRO. Both cost benefits and resourced-based benefits were key drivers of HRO decisions, with a majority of the firms reporting having achieved these benefits equally and positively. Most of the functions outsourced were traditional-transactional HR functions. Slightly more than half of the HRO decisions were made by top management without the involvement of HR managers. More than half of the firms surveyed intended to do more outsourcing in the near future (i.e. within the next two to five years), including firms that had previously experienced HRO failure.Research limitations/implicationsWhile convenience sampling limits the generalisability of the findings, it is suitable for a study like this, especially as there is no pre-established list of firms outsourcing HR available in Malaysia. The study did not cover trends in either HR shared services or insourcing – either of which could potentially affect future HRO trends in the future. The findings also serve as a warning to future HRO researchers about the importance of contextual knowledge to strengthen the validity of their findings.Practical implicationsThe findings provide both practitioners and service providers with insights into HRO practices and trends in Malaysia, which are comprehensively discussed in the paper.Originality/valueThis paper presents a broad, yet up-to-date, overview of HRO practices and trends specific to the Malaysian context. It covers aspects and details of HRO not explored or explicitly discussed before.

Predicting Heart Rate at a Ventilatory Threshold Using Two Approximated HR Trends

Ventilatory threshold (VT) provides an accurate index of individuals’ aerobic fitness but is impractical for daily use. Heart rate at the VT (HRVT) has thus been widely used as an alternative to the VT. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of a new HR parameter in predicting HRVTs. The parameter is defined as HR at the maximal distance point between linearly- and quadratically-approximated HR trends. METHODS: HR and ventilatory gas data for 105 subjects (53 males, 52 females; 38.26 ± 12.06 yrs; 166.62 ± 8.21 cm; 65.31 ± 11.10 kg) of varying aerobic fitness were simultaneously collected during an incremental treadmill test. VTs were manually evaluated from the ventilatory gas data using the three established ventilatory methods - the ventilatory equivalent method, the V-slope method, and the ventilation curve method. Reference HRVTs were then identified as HR values at the VT points and compared to those estimated by the HR parameter. Two conventional HR parameters were also employed as comparable variables to demonstrate the validity of the new HR parameter. RESULTS: A strong positive correlation (r=0.69, p<0.001) and a reasonable HR difference of 10.40 ± 7.06 bpm were obtained between the reference and estimated HRVTs, as compared to the conventional HR deflection points extracted by three linearly approximated HR trends (r=0.35, p<0.001) and three-point HR slopes (r=0.26, p<0.01). The parameter further improves its detection accuracy (r=0.72, p<0.001; 9.91 ± 6.75 bpm) by combining with subject’s age. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed HR parameter, particularly with subject’s age, is highly applicable to predicting HRVTs in terms of the detection accuracy and the noise-robustness due to the use of approximated HR trends.

99 Effect of Late Sodium Current Inhibition on MRI Measured Diastolic Dysfunction and Myocardial Perfusion Reserve in Aortic Stenosis: A Pilot Study: Abstract 99 Table 1

Introduction Aortic Stenosis (AS) is characterised by pressure overload left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and associated diastolic dysfunction. Important determinants of exercise capacity in AS may include the presence of LVH, diastolic dysfunction and microvascular dysfunction. There are no medical therapies in AS of proven value. Ranolazine is licenced for the treatment of angina. It inhibits late sodium channel activation and has been shown to improve diastolic dysfunction in isolated myocytes. Methods In this prospective, open label pilot study with blinded endpoint analysis, we recruited patients with asymptomatic moderate/severe AS and diastolic dysfunction or LVH. They underwent trans-thoracic echocardiography, exercise testing and adenosine stress cardiac magnetic resonance imaging at baseline, 6 weeks after commencing Ranolazine (maximum dose 750 mg BD) and again at 10 weeks (4 weeks after discontinuation). Tagged images were acquired at three short-axis slices on a 3T platform (Siemens Skyra). Myocardial perfusion reserve was calculated from stress and resting blood flow. The primary hypothesis was that Ranolazine would improve peak early diastolic strain rate (PEDSR) on tagged MRI. Results Fifteen patients (PPG 48.8 ± 12.4 mmHg, MPG 27.1 ± 7.5 mmHg, AVA 1.26 ± 0.31 cm 2 , LV mass index 66.72 ± 15.35 g/m 2 ) completed the week-6 visit and 13 completed the final visit. There was a trend for the global PEDSR to increase from the baseline to week-6 (0.79 ± 0.15 to 0.86 ± 0.18, p = 0.198, n = 15). For those who completed the final visit (n = 13), PEDSR increased from baseline to week-6 and then returned close to the baseline value at week-10 (Table 1). There was no significant change in MPR or echocardiographic measures of diastolic dysfunction. The total exercise duration increased from 10.47 ± 3.68 min to 11.60 ± 3.25 min (n = 15, p = 0.06), with a trend for the maximal HR and SBP to be lower at week-6, resulting in a reduction in exercise LV rate-pressure product (LVRPP), suggesting improved myocardial efficiency. On splitting the patients into low and high-MPR subgroups based on the median MPR, the trend for the improvement in PEDSR (0.88 ± 0.80, 1.03 ± 0. 30, 0.86 ± 0.15) and reduction in exercise LVRPP was maintained in the low-MPR subgroup only. Conclusions This pilot hypothesis-generating study has shown some signals towards Ranolazine improving diastolic function and exercise myocardial efficiency in patients with AS, particularly in those with a lower MPR. The current results would support a larger study in patients with diastolic dysfunction. Funding This study was funded and sponsored by Menarini International Operation, Luxembourg with support from the NIHR Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit (CVBRU).

Effect of late sodium current inhibition on MRI measured diastolic dysfunction and myocardial perfusion reserve in aortic stenosis: a pilot study

Background Aortic Stenosis (AS) is characterized by pressure overload hypertrophy (LVH) with associated diastolic dysfunction. The presence of LVH, diastolic dysfunction and microvascular dysfunction appear to be important determinants of exercise capacity in AS. There are no medical therapies in AS of proven value. Ranolazine is licenced for the treatment of angina and inhibits late sodium channel activation. Ranolazine has been shown to improve diastolic dysfunction in isolated myocytes. Methods In this prospective, open label study with blinded endpoint analysis, patients with asymptomatic moderate/severe AS and diastolic dysfunction or LVH were recruited. Patients, underwent trans-thoracic echocardiography, exercise testing and adenosine stress cardiac magnetic resonance imaging at baseline, 6 weeks after commencing Ranolazine (maximum dose 750mg BD) and again at 10 weeks (4 weeks after discontinuation). Tagged images were acquired at three short-axis slices on a 3T platform (Siemens Skyra). Myocardial perfusion reserve was calculated from stress and resting blood flow. The primary hypothesis was that Ranolazine would improve peak early diastolic strain rate (PEDSR) on tagged MRI. Results Fifteen patients (PPG 48.8±12.4 mmHg, MPG 27.1±7.5 mmHg, AVA 1.26±0.31 cm 2 , LV mass index 66.72±15.35 g/m 2 ) completed the week-6 visit and 13 completed the final visit. Results are shown in table 1. There was a trend for the global PEDSR to increase from the baseline to week-6 (0.79 ± 0.15 to 0.86 ± 0.18, p=0.198). For those who completed the final visit, PEDSR increased from baseline to week-6 and then returned close to the baseline value at week-10 (table). There was no significant change in MPR or echocardiographic measures of diastolic dysfunction. The total exercise duration increased from 10.47 ±3.68 minutes to 11.60±3.25 minutes (n=15, p=0.06), with a trend for the maximal HR and SBP to be lower at week6, resulting in a reduction in exercise LV rate-pressure product (LVRPP), suggesting improved myocardial efficiency. On splitting the patients into low and high-MPR subgroups based on the median MPR, the trend for the improvement in PEDSR (0.88 ± 0.80, 1.03 ± 0 .30, 0.86 ± 0.15) and reduction in exercise LVRPP was maintained in the low-MPR subgroup only. Conclusions This pilot hypothesis-generating study has shown some signals towards Ranolazine improving diastolic function and exercise myocardial efficiency in patients with AS, particularly in those with a lower MPR. The current results would support a larger study in patients with diastolic dysfunction. Funding

A Randomized Phase Ii Study of Paclitaxel-Carboplatin-Bevacizumab (Pcb) with or Without Nitroglycerin Patches (Ntg) in Patients (Pts) with Stage Iv Non-Squamous-Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (Ns-Nsclc)(Nvalt 12), Impact of Circulating Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (Vegf) Levels

ABSTRACT Aim: NTG added to standard chemotherapy has been shown to improve clinical outcome. NTG is hypothesized to increase tumor blood flow and may augment drug delivery to the tumor and diminish tumor hypoxia causing a decrease in VEGF. High circulating VEGF is a prognostic factor for unfavourable outcome. We showed that adding NTG to PCB (PCB + N) did not improve progression free survival (PFS), response rate (RR) and overall survival (OS) in pts with stage IV NS-NSCLC (NCT01171170; Dingemans, ASCO 2014). Here we present impact of baseline VEGF on clinical outcome. Methods: In this open-label multicenter phase II trial chemo-naive pts with stage IV NS-NSCLC were randomized 1:1 to PCB or PCB + N. Pts were treated with P 200 mg/m2 day (d) 1-C AUC 6 d1-B 15 mg/kg d1 every 3 weeks (wks) or PCB + NTG 15 mg/24 h for 5 d (d -2 to +3) every cycle for 4 cycles and B + N until progression. The study was powered (80%) to detect a decrease in the hazard of progression of 33% at a = 0.05 with a two-sided log rank test. As pre-planned exploratory analysis baseline, wks 3 and 6 free circulating VEGF levels by ELISA were assessed. Results: 223 pts were randomized; 112 PCB and 111 PCB + N; Median (95% CI) PFS in PCB was 6.8 months (m) (5.6-7.3) and 5.0 m (4.2-5.8) in PCB + N, HR 1.22 (0.91-1.63). OS was 11.6 m (8.7-14) in PCB and 9.5 m (7.8-11.9) in PCB + N, HR 1.12 (0.76-1.67). Baseline median VEGF (n = 178) was 111 pg/ml (inter-quartile range 55-218), equal between 2 arms. High VEGF levels (n = 89) at baseline was associated with worse OS (p = 0.02) and PFS (p = 0.0003). For pts with above median VEGF at baseline, OS and PFS were not different for PCB and PCB + N, for pts with below median VEGF there was a trend for worse PFS HR 1.46 (0.95 – 2.24) and OS HR1.55 (0.97-2.49) in the pts treated with PCB + N. In both arms VEGF became undetectable or very low at 3 and 6 wks. Conclusions: Adding NTG to first line PCB does not improve PFS and OS in pts with stage IV NS-NSCLC. As the mechanism of action of NTG is presumably through the VEGF pathway, decrease of VEGF levels by B may preclude an additional effect of NTG. Disclosure: A.C. Dingemans: advisory board Roche; H.J.M. Groen: advisory board roche E.F. Smit: advisory board roche; J.G. Aerts: advisory board roche. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Recent Trends in HR as Useful Retention Strategy in Indian Information Technology (IT) Sector

Recent Trends in HR as Useful Retention Strategy in Indian Information Technology (IT) Sector

Recent Trends in HR as Useful Retention Strategy in Indian Information Technology (IT) Sector

Purpose - The focal point of this research is to study the implications of retention, various reasons for attrition and also different ways to control...

Recent Trends in HR as Useful Retention Strategy in Indian Information Technology (IT) Sector

Recent Trends in HR as Useful Retention Strategy in Indian Information Technology (IT) Sector

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Introduction: Sepsis is common in ICU patients and despite a mortality benefit associated with early protocolized care, adherence to management guidelines remains inconsistent. Methods: In this randomized trial, patients admitted to the MICU and SICU with sepsis were randomized to usual care vs treatment with a novel electronic sepsis management tool. The sepsis tool, available via the EMR throughout the ICU admission, presented a divided display with one half graphing trend and goal for HR, MAP, CVP, Hgb, and lactate and the other half offering sepsis assessment and management tabs in a work-flow modeled on the Surviving Sepsis Campaign 2008 guidelines with one-click order entry for labs, cultures, imaging, antibiotics, and goal-directed resuscitation. Results: Of 346 patients, 164 were randomized to control and 182 to sepsis tool with no difference in age, gender, race, presence of sepsis on admission, or source of sepsis. Intention-to-treat analysis showed no difference in time to blood cultures ordered (2.54h vs. 3.82h, p=0.451), antibiotics administered (3.82h vs. 3.55h, p=0.585), CVP measured (6.00h vs. 5.61h, p=0.340), vasopressor ordered (4.84h vs. 5.25h, p=0.284), lactate measured (2.12h vs. 1.85h, p=0.472). There was no difference in percentage of patients who in the first 6h had blood cultures obtained, antibiotics administered, CVP measured, vasopressors ordered, or lactated measured. Per-protocol analysis of 44 patients on whom the tool was utilized to enter orders versus the remaining 302 patients showed no differences in age, gender, race, route of admission, sepsis at admission, or source of sepsis. There was no difference in the rate of or time to blood cultures, antibiotics, vasopressors, lactate measurement. Patients who had orders placed trended toward quicker CVP measurement (4.97h vs. 5.92h, p=0.123), higher rate of CVP in the first 6 hours (39.5% vs. 26.7%, p=0.081), with higher rate of CVP>=8 (34.1% vs. 19.9%, p=0.032). Conclusions: This study establishes the feasibility of instituting an integrated, electronic tool for sepsis management. Assessment of the effect on procedural and clinical outcomes is limited by low utilization of the tool.

Dietary antioxidants and the aetiology of pancreatic cancer: a cohort study using data from food diaries and biomarkers

ObjectiveTo investigate whether the dietary antioxidants vitamins C and E, selenium and zinc decrease the risk of developing pancreatic cancer, for the first time using 7-day food diaries, the most...

Comparison of peak cardiopulmonary performance parameters during robotics-assisted treadmill exercise and arm crank ergometry in incomplete spinal cord injury

(i) to compare cardiopulmonary performance parameters obtained from incremental exercise tests (IETs) performed using a robotics-assisted treadmill and an arm crank ergometer; (ii) to investigate test-retest reliability during both modes of exercise. Each participant performed two IETs to the limit of tolerance on both a robotics-assisted treadmill and an arm crank ergometer. A Spinal Injuries Unit in the United Kingdom. 10 people with an incomplete spinal cord injury (SCI). Not applicable. Peak oxygen uptake (VO(2peak)), the gas exchange threshold (GET), peak heart rate (HR(peak)) and peak lactate (Lactate(peak) were obtained for each mode of assessment. The mean responses and test-retest reliability of the main outcome measures were determined and compared between modes of assessment. VO(2peak) was 16% higher (p = 0.016) and the VO2 at the GET was 40% higher (p = 0.007) during the robotics-assisted treadmill exercise (RATE) IET. There was a trend for HR(peak) to be higher during arm crank ergometry (ACE) (p = 0.058). Lactate(peak) was 46% higher (p = 0.006) during the ACE IET. During robotics-assisted exercise, the test-retest reliability was very high for VO2(peak) (r = 0.95), high for the GET (r = 0.75) and HR(peak) (r = 0.88), and moderate for Lactate(peak) (r =0.58). For ACE, the test-retest reliability was very high for VO(2peak) (r = 0.93), high for HR(peak) (r = 0.81) and Lactate(peak) (r = 0.78), and low for the GET (r = 0.16). The results suggest that, when compared with ACE,RATE can be a highly effective stressor of the cardiopulmonary system, and may be a more appropriate mode of assessment to determine and monitor cardiopulmonary fitness in people with incomplete SCI.

Angiogenesis-associated sequence variants relative to breast cancer recurrence and survival

Breast cancer (BrCA) risk stratification using clinico-pathological biomarkers helps improve disease prognosis prediction. However, disease recurrence rates remain unfavorable and individualized clinical management strategies are needed. Consequently, we evaluated the influence of 14 sequence variants detected in IL-10, TGF-β1, VEGF, and their associated receptors as effective predictors of BrCA clinical outcomes. Tumor DNA samples collected from 441 BrCA patients were genotyped using TaqMan-PCR. Most selected targets alter cytokine serum/plasma levels or signaling pathways. Relationships between genetic profiles and recurrence as well as disease-related mortality were evaluated using cumulative incidence curves and competing risk regression models. The VEGF(-2578)C allele was associated with a 1.3- to 1.6-fold increase in BrCA recurrence (HR(trend) = 1.28; 95% CI = 0.96-1.72) and disease-related mortality (HR(trend) = 1.56; 95% CI = 0.93-2.56). Although this marker was marginally significant relative to BrCA outcomes, there were substantial gains in the 5- and 8-year predictive accuracy compared to standard prognostic indicators. Among ER(+)/PR(+) status patients, there was a significant impact of the VEGF(-2578)CC genotype on disease recurrence and predictive accuracy. Our findings suggest inheritance of the VEGF(-2578)C allele could serve as an independent prognostic indicator of BrCA prognosis. The VEGF(-2578) marker may have clinical implications among a subset of ER(+)/PR(+) patients with an aggressive phenotype. Because the VEGF(-2578)C allele is linked to high VEGF expression, this cytokine is a potential prognostic and targeted clinical management tool.

Repeated bouts of exercise alter the blood lactate-RPE relation

To examine the effects of repeated bouts of exercise on the blood lactate [HLa]-ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) relation. Six moderately trained males were studied on two occasions: a sequential exercise bouts day (SEB: 1000 h, 1130 h, and 1300 h) and a delayed exercise bouts day (DEB: 1000 h, 1400 h, and 1800 h). Each of the three exercise bouts within a given condition were 30 min in duration at the power output (PO) associated with 70% of VO2peak on a cycle ergometer. A standardized meal was provided at 0600 h. VO2, PO, HR, and RER were recorded every min during exercise and blood [HLa] and RPE were measured every 5 min during exercise. A 2 x 3 analysis of variance with repeated measures revealed that blood [HLa] decreased significantly with each repeated exercise bout (X +/- SEM: bout 1: SEB = 3.5 (0.3), DEB = 3.8 (0.4); bout 2: SEB = 2.6 (0.3), DEB = 2.8 (0.3); bout 3: SEB = 2.0 (0.2), DEB = 2.1 (0.4); mM). No differences were observed in the blood [HLa] response to repeated bouts of exercise between SEB and DEB. RPE-peripheral (legs, RPE-L) was higher during bout 3 compared with bout 1 (P <0.05) (bout 1: SEB = 11.8 (0.8), DEB = 12.3 (0.2); bout 2: SEB = 12.3 (0.5), DEB = 13.3 (0.4); bout 3: SEB = 13.5 (0.8), DEB = 14.0 (0.7); RPE-central (chest and breathing, RPE-C) was not affected by repeated bouts of exercise, whereas RPE-Overall (RPE-O) was higher during bout 3 compared with bouts 1 and 2 (P < 0.05) (bout 1: SEB = 12.5 (0.2), DEB = 12.3 (0.4); bout 2: SEB = 12.8 (0.4), DEB = 12.7 (0.4); bout 3: SEB = 13.7 (0.7), DEB = 13.2 (0.3)). No interaction for RPE x condition was observed. HR increased with repeated bouts of exercise with HR during exercise bout 3 being higher than HR during exercise bout 1 (164 vs. 156 bpm, P < 0.05). There was also a strong trend for HR during exercise bout 3 to be higher than HR during exercise bout 2 (P < 0.06). A trend for a reduction in VO2 with repeated exercise was observed (P < 0.07), with the reduction apparently related to the SEB condition (P < 0.12 for VO2 x condition). PO and kcal.min-1 were not affected by repeated bouts of exercise. RER decreased significantly with each repeated bout of exercise (from RER = 0.96 to RER = 0.89, P < 0.05) with no difference observed between SEB and DEB. We conclude that the blood [HLa]-RPE relation is altered by repeated bouts of exercise and that this alteration does not appear to be affected by recovery time between exercise bouts (up to 3.5 h of recovery). These data suggest that, after the first exercise bout, RPE should not be used to produce a specific blood [HLa] on subsequent exercise bouts.

Practical applications for personal development plans

Personal development has been one of the popular HR trends of the 1990s, and yet has received little close scrutiny as to its application in practice. Reports on the experiences of 14 employers using personal development plans. Finds that employers hope for different things, some want cost effectiveness, others to forge a new deal on development and others to develop a more autonomous workforce. In practice personal development plans (PDPs) are resource intensive but do seem to get individuals to own their own careers and become more autonomous. The means by which they are created can also have a significant effect. Suggests learning points for organizations considering the implementation of PDPs.