KSLU Solved Question Papers
Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 3
2025 Jun Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 3 Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations 2025 Jun Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2025 Jun examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2025 Jun examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 80 · 20 questions answered
Instructions printed on the paper
- N.B. (1) Answer all 5 Units. (2) One essay type and one short note question from each Unit have to be attempted. (3) Figures to the right indicate marks. (4) Answer should be written either in English or Kannada completely.
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1
Unit I
(a)Briefly describe evolution and development of HRM.[10]
Answer
For full marks, cover: what is meant by the evolution of HRM; its development in four broad periods abroad (the early factory age, the age of efficiency and human relations, the age of personnel departments and unions, the age of HRM and strategy), each with its main ideas and names; its development in India (the Whitley Commission, welfare officers under the Factories Act and now the OSH Code, the professional bodies, HRD at Larsen and Toubro, liberalisation, the Labour Codes); a summary table of the changing names of the function; a conclusion.
What the evolution of HRM means
The way organisations manage people has changed greatly over time. The function was first a matter of hiring hands and keeping order. It then became welfare work, then personnel administration, and today it is human resource management, closely tied to business strategy. This gradual change is called the evolution and development of HRM. Each period added ideas and practices that are still in use.
A. Development abroad
1. The early factory age (late 1700s to late 1800s). The Industrial Revolution brought large factories. Workers were hired and dismissed by owners and foremen as needed, with long hours and low pay. There was no special department for people. A few employers thought differently. Robert Owen at New Lanark in Scotland, in the early 1800s, showed that better housing, schooling and shorter hours could go with profit. Early factory laws began to limit hours and child labour.
2. The age of efficiency and human relations (about 1900 to 1940). F. W. Taylor's The Principles of Scientific Management (1911) asked managers to select and train workers scientifically, set standard tasks and pay incentives. This gave a method to hiring, training and wage fixing. Then came the Hawthorne studies at Western Electric (1924 to 1932), joined by Elton Mayo's Harvard team from 1927. They showed that attention, group feeling and morale affect output. Employers began to think about supervision, communication and the social side of work.
3. The age of personnel departments and unions (about 1940 to 1980). As trade unions and labour laws grew, firms set up personnel departments. These handled recruitment, records, wages, discipline, welfare and collective bargaining. Behavioural writers such as Abraham Maslow (1943), Frederick Herzberg (1959) and Douglas McGregor (1960) showed that people seek recognition and growth. Training, job enrichment and participation entered personnel work.
4. The age of HRM and strategy (1980s to today). In the 1980s the term HRM came into general use. The Harvard model (1984) treated employees as assets and stakeholders. The Michigan model (1984) asked that HR systems fit the firm's strategy. Later, HR became a business partner. The HR Scorecard (2001) by Becker, Huselid and Ulrich showed how HR's contribution could be measured. Today talent management, engagement, HR analytics and digital HR are common.
B. Development in India
- The Royal Commission on Labour (1929 to 1931). Chaired by J. H. Whitley, it studied the health, efficiency and living standards of industrial workers and their relations with employers. Its report shaped labour policy for a long time.
- Welfare officers by law. Section 49 of the Factories Act, 1948 required factories employing 500 or more workers to employ welfare officers. This created a personnel post in large factories. The Act was repealed from 21 November 2025 by the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. Section 24(2)(iv) of the Code now lets the Central Government require a welfare officer where 250 or more workers are employed.
- Professional bodies. The Indian Institute of Personnel Management (Kolkata, 1948) and the National Institute of Labour Management (Bombay, 1950) built the profession. They merged on 15 March 1980 into the National Institute of Personnel Management.
- Human resource development. In 1974 to 1975, Udai Pareek and T. V. Rao of IIM Ahmedabad advised Larsen and Toubro to set up a separate HRD department. HRD then spread to banks and large companies.
- Liberalisation from 1991. Competition and the entry of multinational firms pushed Indian companies to adopt modern HRM: performance-linked pay, talent management and strategic HR.
- The Labour Codes. From 21 November 2025, four Labour Codes on wages, industrial relations, social security and occupational safety replaced many older labour laws. HR departments have had to revise their policies to match.
The changing names of the function
| Period | Name of the function | Main concern |
|---|---|---|
| Early factories | No separate function | Hiring and order |
| Early 1900s | Labour welfare | Welfare of workers |
| Mid-1900s | Personnel management and industrial relations | Administration, unions, law |
| 1970s in India | Human resource development | Developing people |
| 1980s onwards | Human resource management | People as assets, integrated policies |
| 1990s onwards | Strategic HRM | Link with business strategy |
What the evolution shows
The evolution shows a steady change in how workers are seen. They were first seen as replaceable hands, then as people needing care, then as parties to be administered. Today they are seen as assets and partners. The earlier functions were not dropped: welfare, administration and industrial relations remain part of HR work, now joined to development and strategy.
Conclusion. HRM evolved abroad from the factory age through scientific management, the human relations movement and personnel administration to modern and strategic HRM. In India it began with the Whitley Commission and statutory welfare officers. It grew through the professional bodies and HRD at Larsen and Toubro into the strategic HR of the liberalised economy. It now works under the Labour Codes. Throughout, the change has been from controlling labour to developing and partnering with people.
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