MB0043 – Human Resource Management Semester -I Assignment set-II

MB0043 – Human Resource Management Semester -I

Assignment set-II

Q.1. List and explain the sources of recruitment?

Answer:

Sources of recruitment:-

Advertisement:- Enterprise advertises vacancies through newspaper, trade journals & magazines. The content of advertisement & media through which advertisement is to be given is decided by Human Resource department. It is convenient & economical method.

1. Casual Callers:- On occasions people drop in without any announcement of vacancy to find out if jobs are available. A waiting list of such visitors may be prepared & they may be screened to fill the vacancies whenever they arise.
2. Gate hiring or Recruitment at factory gate: It is usually followed by factories to fill up vacancies at lower level. A large enterprise usually plays a notice on notice board specifying details of job available. A large number of unemployed persons assemble at gate where personnel manage scrutinize them & pick the persons as per requirement Small workshops recruit fitters, welders etc, through this source.
3. Educational Institutions:- School, colleges & professional institutions offer opportunities for recruiting their students. Prospective employers verify credentials of students & conduct interview directly, placement cells have been set up in well known educational institutions to help students in securing suitable jobs.
4. Management Consultants:- Help to recruit technical, professional & managerial personnel for example accountants, engineers. They specialize in middle level & top level executive placements. They maintain data bank of persons with different qualifications & skills & even advertise jobs on behalf their clients to recruit right type of personnel.
5. Recommendations:- Friends & relative of present employees are also good source of recruitment. Many concern prefer such candidates as they generally stand surety for new recruits and their background is partly known & type of preliminary screening take place.
6. Labour Contractor:- Workers are recruited through labor contractors who are themselves employees of organization. The disadvantage of this system is that if contractor leaves the organization, all the workers employed through him will also leave. Recruitment through this source has been banned for public sector units. However, this practice is still common in case of construction industry.
7. Telecasting:- The practice of telecasting of vacant posts over T.V. (Doordarshan & other channels) is gaining importance these days. Special programmes like ‘Job Watch’, ‘Youth Pulse’, ‘Employment News’ etc, over T.V. have become quite popular in recruitment for various types of jobs. The use of T.V. as a source of recruitment is less as compared to other sources because it is an expensive medium.
8. Union list:- ‘Sometimes trade Unions list maintain list of candidates seeking employment in the concern. Such candidates could be recruited in consultation with union.
9. Central application file:- A file is maintained of past applicants who were not selected earlier, in case of immediate requirements such candidates can also be contacted.

Merits:-

1. Wide Options:- It brings large number of applicants as it permits enterprise to have free hands in making selection.
2. Fresh talent:- Enterprise can expect to get fresh talented candidates from outside which leads to infusion of New Blood & new ideas in to enterprises.
3. Element of competition:- This is a healthy feature from point of view of enterprise as internal candidates have to compete with outside candidate

Limitations:-

1. Lengthy process:- It takes long time. The business has to notify vacancies & wait for applications to initiate selection process.
2. Costly process:- A lot of money has to be spent on advertisement & processing of applications.
3. Uncertain Response:- The candidates from outside may not be suitable for enterprise. There is no guarantee that enterprise will be able to attract right kinds of people from external sources.
4. Dissatisfaction among Existing staff:- They may feel that their chances of promotion may be reduced.

Q.2. Write a note on objectives of training?

Answer: Defining objectives for training is a critical step in the whole development process. Why? Well, without a training objective instructors don't know exactly what it is to be taught, learners don't know what they are to learn, and managers don't know what they are investing their training dollars in. Think of training objectives as check points on a roadmap. Because if they are done correctly, it clearly defines you’re the route to get from point "A" to point "B", telling everyone how to get there. A training objective defines what is to be learned, how well it is to be performed, and under what conditions it is to be performed. Naturally, it goes without saying objectives must be clear, honest, complete, and unquestionably correct!

"A training objective must clearly state the task to be done, the conditions under which training will take place and observed, and the standards of learning that should be accomplished."A complete objective will contain a:

• Task
• Condition
• Standard

The Task: (Description of Performance)

The first requirement is that the objective contain an action verb that describes doing something that can be seen and measured. Words such as the following do not possess a common, single meaning and are capable of different interpretations:

Comprehend	Know	Contemplate
Fully understand	Remember	Perceive
Grasp significance of	Have Faith in	Believe in
Be aware of	Decide	Recognize
Really appreciate	Enjoy	Experience
Have a feeling for	Consider	Examine

While these are legitimate goals, perhaps, but may be a bit unclear and fuzzy around the edges.

How does an instructor see the action the student is taking when demonstrating that he or she can appreciate, has faith in, etc.? Furthermore, the student does have a clear understanding of just what he or she has to do either. Do not use these words to describe the task the student must perform.

The following words tells the student what they must do, they can be good action verbs for a training objective:

Inventory	Overhaul	Measure	Calculate	Recover
Test	Solve	Write	List	Operate
Construct	Disassemble	Detect	Name	Adjust
Identify	Define	Assemble	Explain	Install
Maintain	Locate	Remove	Calibrate	Replace
Authenticate	Rewire	Troubleshoot	Repair	Build

Determine the most accurate action possible. Verbally explaining is not as accurate as explaining in writing. The point is that both you and the student must agree on what you are going to have them do.

Conditions:

The conditions under which the behavior is to be observed. The objective will contain the conditions under which action will take place. The student deserves to know what he or she will be given, or not given, to do the task. The questions you need to ask yourself are, do the conditions affect task performance? 

If Yes. Do they affect the type and amount of training? Generally the types of conditions to be considered are as follows:

Training aids, handbooks, instructions, preprinted forms, environmental conditions and safety briefing, and other written documents. The student should be told what he or she will be given in order to complete the task.

Standards:

The standard of performance is the last part of  a complete objective. This is what a student must achieve before he or she is considered to have satisfactory completed the objective.

In other words, "can they walk and chew gum at the same time without falling down."  

Now that you have a little more information about objectives, its also not seldom necessary for a course of instruction to taught to mastery level,  unless that is your intended objective. 

In most training environments, the students are taught how to do a task, but then they must practice on the job to be good at it. It's also not usually necessary or reasonable to expect the student to perform without error just to pass a course. Usually, you will set it to a level where the student is expected to solve a certain percentage of problems or meet specific accuracy standards, or to do things within a certain amount of time. These criteria (speed, accuracy, quantity) often become the standards. They tell the student how well and how fast he or she must complete the task. This should be presented to the students as part of the training objectives.

Q.3. What are the different career development activities? Explain.

Answer: Career Development Activities are activities that help you to acquire skills, gain knowledge and cultivate the right attitudes. From the Career Development Assessment you will have a list of Skills, Knowledge and Attitudes (SKA) to develop. Like most of us you probably are short of time and have limited resources so you need to focus on what is essential.

Priorities SKAs to develop both for long term and short term goals

For your career development to be successful and efficient, you need to priorities SKAs to develop both for long term and short term goals from the Career Development Assessment decide which are the top one to three Skills, Knowledge and Attitudes (SKA) areas you want to develop for each short and long term goal.

From your research you should have an idea what the essential SKAs are, the ones without which you will never be in line for a promotion to that job. If you already got that – great, keep perfecting it. If not that developing these essential SKAs is your top priority. Use our FREE Career Development Plan to capture your ideas.

Use this stage for another reality check about your goals. To make your goals achievable, check that you have some of the talents required for the job. If you hate speaking to people, but love analyzing data don’t aim to be Sales Director or Head of Customer Services; aim for a job that plays to your strengths and talents. Working on strengths will make choosing your career development activities much easier, more cost and time effective. It will also make the learning a more pleasant journey and reap greater rewards in terms of satisfaction and happiness.

Evidence - how would it look like when you have developed each SKA

Defining some clear “sensory based” (see, feel, hear) evidence at the outset, allows us to check if you have achieved something. For each of these priorities write down how you and possibly others would know you have developed these skills, knowledge and attitudes? What would you see, feel, hear, say? What would others see you doing and saying? What would the results be? Be as descriptive as possible as that will give you ideas for the next step. 

Under “Presentation Skills” for example describe what that actually means for you: “I can hold eye contact with the audience; I can use a flipchart, PowerPoint and props; I can speak with only a few notes; my breathing is regular; I can answer questions with ease.”

Brainstorm possible development activities

List all the different activities that could help you to acquire each Priority SKA (Skill, Knowledge, Attitude). This is the creative phase, the more ideas the better. Below is a list of some Career Development Activities.

Evaluate and choose the most appropriate development activities Now you can judge and evaluate all the different development activities by checking the impact of the activity and the ease of implementing the activity.Impact– if I do this activity will I acquire the SKA? All of it (high), a major part of it, a small part of it (Low)? Decide if the activity has High or Low impact.Ease of implementation – how easy is it to do this activity? How easy is it to get this activity signed off and financed? Where does the activity take place – how easy can I get there? How much time is involved? Decide if ease of implementation is High (=Easy) or Low (=difficult). You then combine these two criteria and priorities those that have high impact and easy implementation. If you like doing this visually, use one post it note for each development activity and place them in a grid like the one below. You can then add granularity to your evaluation by how far away from the middle in each direction you place your post-it. Make a plan (what, when, who, where, how) Now you are ready to make the plan. You may still need to do some research like check the budget, investigate training providers, talk to line manager/colleague/spouse, book course. These are the action steps you note under “Next step”. Keep updating the plan and make sure you do the next steps and keep progressing. Please include development activities for long term goals in here as the Skills, Knowledge and Attitudes required to achieve your long term goals may take a longer period. Q.4.Discuss some steps that are commonly practiced for motivating employees. Answer: It is a costly mistake to get lost in the false theory that more money equals happy employees. Believing this is costing you valuable time, revenue, employees...and even threatening your own job. Cash will always be a major factor in motivating people and a solid compensation plan is critical to attracting and keeping key personnel. But the key is that additional cash is not always the only answer and in many cases not even the best answer. Too many bonus or commission checks get cashed, spent and forgotten just that quickly. Grocery stores and gasoline stations are among the necessary stops that seem to get in the way of using your extra cash on something special for you. One alternative to giving commissions or bonus dollars is to give gifts through a catalog point system. The company you choose will provide you with catalogs, price sheets and point checks at no charge. The structure for your bonus plan can remain the same but instead of awarding cash to your employees you award equivalent points. Those points may then be used to purchase an enormous variety of gifts or travel plans from the catalog. The stimulation involved is long-lasting. It begins with the employee being able to browse the catalog choosing what they will strive to earn. The catalog acts as a tangible reminder of their goal. The gift itself will last as evidence of their achievements. Whenever I have implemented this program, the employees are overwhelmingly in favor of the point system as opposed to cash. This type of program is very popular with employees because they purchase things they would never normally have the "money" to afford. With solid compensation in place, let's look at non-monetary motivation...20 steps to success. 1. Recognition/Attention. When your employees accomplish something they have achieved something. Your recognition is appreciation for that achievement. I believe that most managers don't give enough recognition because they don't get enough. Therefore, it doesn't come natural to do it. If this applies to you, you need to drop this excuse like a bad habit! Become a giver! Look at the price. Recognition is free! 2. Applause. A form of recognition yes, but a very specific form. Physically applaud your people by giving them a round of applause for specific achievements. Where? When? The answer is wherever and whenever. At meetings or company-sponsored social gatherings, a luncheon, or in the office. At the end of a shift, before a shift, and whenever possible in the middle of a shift. Using plaques or trophies is another effective way of applauding your people. Although "wooden applause" is often successfully used in the form of Employee of the Month plaques, more creative ideas are sorely underutilized. Take the time to be creative, matching special accomplishments with unique awards. 3. One-on-One Coaching. Coaching is employee development. Your only cost is time. Time means you care. And remember your people don't care how much you know... until they know how much you care. Whenever the emphasis is on positive feedback, I make sure to do this coaching in "public." Whenever you recognize and encourage people in "public," it acts as a natural stimulant for others who are close enough to see or hear what's taking place. 4. Training. Is training ever finished? Can you possibly overtrain? NO and NO. For whatever reasons, too many people feel "My people have already been trained" or "I've got good people...they only need a little training." But training never ends. Schedule "tune- up" training sessions. These should be led by you or by a supervisor with help from specific employees who show a particular strength in the skills taught. I know this takes time, but these types of training sessions will continually enhance the performance of your people and the productivity of your business. 5. Career Path. Your employees need to know what is potentially ahead for them, what opportunities there are for growth. This issue is a sometimes forgotten ingredient as to the importance it plays in the overall motivation of people. Set career paths within your organization. Do you promote from within? I hope you can answer yes to that. Although specific circumstances require you to look for talent outside your company you should always first consider internal personnel. If you do this you are sending a very positive message to every one that there are indeed further career opportunities within your organization. 6. Job Titles. When you talk about job titles you are tapping the self-esteem of people. How someone feels about the way they are perceived in the workforce is a critical component to overall attitude and morale. Picture a social gathering that includes some of your staff. The subject of work inevitably comes up. Will your people be proud, or embarrassed, to share their title and workplace? The importance of feeling proud of who you are and what you do is monumental. Be creative as you think of possibilities for titles. Have your staff come up with ideas giving them input into the titles. Bottom line, you are dealing with pride...and pride enhances a positive attitude...and a positive attitude is the foundation for continuing success. 7. Good Work Environment. A recent industry study shows just how inaccurate your results can be. Employers were asked to rank what they thought motivated their people and then employees were asked to rank what really did motivate them. Employers felt "working conditions" was a nine (or next to last) in terms of importance. What did the employees say? Number two! Working conditions are very important to the way employees feel about where they work. Cosmetically, does your office look nice? Are there pictures on the walls, plants and fresh paint among other features that generally make people feel good about their environment? Does their work space have enough room or are they cramped in a "sardine can?" What about furniture? Is the desk the right size, chair comfortable? Is there file space and do they have the miscellaneous office supplies needed for maximum performance? Is the temperature regulated properly so they don't feel they're in the Amazon jungle one minute and the North Pole the next? 8. On-the-Spot Praise. This too is associated with recognition but the key here is timing. When there is a reason for praising someone don't put it off for any reason! Promptness equals effectiveness. Praise people when the achievement is fresh on everyone's mind. What is effective is for us to get off our keisters and go out and tell whoever it is what a great presentation it was or applaud them for the sale...praise them promptly for what they accomplished or achieved! Don't allow time to creep in and snatch away any ounce of the positive impact that praise can have when it is delivered promptly. 9. Leadership Roles. Give your people leadership roles to reward their performance and also to help you identify future promotable people. Most people are stimulated by leadership roles even in spot appearances. For example, when visitors come to your workplace use this opportunity to allow an employee to take the role of visitors guide. A great place to hand out leadership roles is to allow your people to lead brief meetings. Utilize your employees' strengths and skills by setting up "tune up" training sessions and let one of your employees lead the training. The best time to do this is when new people start. Or, assign a meeting leader after someone has attended an outside seminar or workshop. Have them lead a post show, briefing the other employees regarding seminar content and highlights. Have your employees help you lead a project team to improve internal processes. 10. Team Spirit. Have a picture taken on your entire staff (including you!), have it enlarged and hang it in a visible spot. Most people like to physically see themselves as part of a group or team. When running contests in your area, try to create contests and affiliated activity that are team driven. People driving to reach goals together definitely enhance team spirit solely because they must lean upon others and be prepared to be leaned on. One very effective idea for me has been building a collage of creative ideas with the "Team" theme. All employees are responsible for submitting a phrase referring to TEAM on a weekly rotation. Each of these ideas (such as TEAM: Total Enthusiasm of All Members or There is no I in Team) is placed on a wall, creating a collage of Team-oriented phrases. Don't have one person responsible for this...do it as a team. 11. Executive Recognition. This is the secret weapon. And like any secret weapon, timing is most critical. If this is used too often the value is diminished. And if it is used only for special occasions and rare achievements the value is escalated. We talked earlier about general recognition and the positive impact that has on your people. That will go up a few notches when it comes from an executive. Some of the same vehicles can be used here such as memos and voice mail. To add yet another level of stimulation, have an executive either personally call to congratulate someone (or a group) or even show up in person to shake hands and express his or her appreciation. 12. Social Gatherings. Scheduled offsite events enhance bonding which in turn helps team spirit, which ultimately impacts your positive work environment. Halloween costume parties, picnics on July 4th, Memorial Day or Labor Day, and Christmas parties are only some of the ideas that successfully bring people together for an enjoyable time. Some others that I've used with equal success are softball games (against other companies or among employees, depending on staff size), groups going putt-putt golfing or movie madness. 13. Casual Dress Day. This will apply more to the Business-to-Business world based on the difference in normal dress codes from the Business-to-Consumer arena. For those required to "dress business" every day a casual day becomes a popular desire. Use holidays to create theme color casual days such as red and green before Christmas or red, white and blue before July 4th, or black and orange prior to Halloween. This will add to the impact you're trying to have by calling a casual day in the first place. Establish pre-vacation casual days for each individual employee to enjoy on the day before his or her vacation. Major sports events are a perfect opportunity for casual days to support your local or favorite team with appropriate colors, buttons, and logo wear. Spontaneous casual days produce a lot or stimulation based on the element of surprise. Announce a casual dress day for the following work day "just because." Use individual or team casual dress days as contest prizes or awards for specific accomplishment. 14. Time Off. Implement contests that earn time off. People will compete for 15 minutes or 1/2 hour off just as hard as they will for a cash award. And in many cases, I have had people pick time off over cash when given the choice. Put goals in place (padded of course) and when these goals are reached by individuals, teams or the entire staff, reward them with time off. Allow early dismissals, late arrivals, and extended lunch periods or additional breaks. 15. Outside Seminars. Outside seminars are a stimulating break. Because outside seminars are not always cost efficient for most people, consider on-site seminars or workshops for your staff. Use outside seminars as a contest prize for one or two people. Then set up a structured plan for those seminar attendees to briefly recreate the seminar to the rest of your people when they return. Now everyone gets educated for the price of one. 16. Additional Responsibility. There are definitely employees in your organization who are begging for and can handle additional responsibility. Our job as managers is to identify who they are and if possible match responsibilities to their strengths and desires. 17. Theme Contests. Over the years my contests have produced up to 170% increase in performance. But equally as important, they've helped maintain positive environments that have reduced employee turnover by 400%. Overall the most successful contests seem to be those affiliated with different themes. Holidays, anniversaries, sports and culture are examples of ideas to base contests on. Sports, without a doubt, provide the largest opportunity for a wide variety of contests. Even Culture can be used to create theme contest. My favorite is using the '50s and '60s as a theme for a contest that I run at least once a year. 18. Stress Management. There are many articles and books available on the subject. Make this reference material available to your people. Make sure they know it is available and encourage them to use it. If possible, have an in-house seminar on stress management techniques. So that production time is not lost, you might consider having a brown bag luncheon with a guest speaker on this subject. Because stress is an ongoing concern, anytime is a good time for a seminar like this to take place. Be as flexible as you can with breaks during the course of the day. 19. Pizza/Popcorn/Cookie Days. Every now and then pizza, popcorn, or cookie days will help break up that everyday routine and help people stay motivated. Because it is a natural tendency for people to get excited in anticipation of something, structure some of these days in advance. Then buy some pizzas or different cookies or even whip out some different types of popcorn. 20. Gags and Gimmicks. Use different gimmicks as awards to help inspire performance increases from your people. The key to awards is establishing the perception of priceless value that is associated with them. They should be recognized as status symbols in your environment. Here are some of my ideas: Plastic/rubber whale for "whale" of a performance. Pillsbury dough boy for the person raisin' the most bread. Cardboard stars for star-studded performances. Plastic phonograph records for setting a new record. California raisins for those with the highest percentage of "raisin" their productivity. Special parking space for the person who drives the hardest. Toy cymbals for those "symbolizing" total effort. Special Mountain Dew can for that person who exemplifies the "can do" attitude. A figurine of E.T. for out-of-this-world performance. The Eveready Bunny for those that keep going, and going, and going. Large Tootsie Roll replica for those on a "roll." A drum for the person that "drums" up the most business.

Q.5. Describe the grievance handling procedure.

Answer: Maintaining quality of work life for its employees is an important concern for the any organisation. The grievance handling procedure of the organisation can affect the harmonious environment of the organisation.  The grievances of the employees are related to the contract, work rule or regulation, policy or procedure, health and safety regulation, past practice, changing the cultural norms unilaterally, individual victimization, wage, bonus, etc. Here, the attitude on the part of management in their effort to understand the problems of employees and resolve the issues amicably have better probability to maintain a culture of high performance. Managers must be educated about the importance of the grievance process and their role in maintaining favorable relations with the union. Effective grievance handling is an essential part of cultivating good employee relations and running a fair, successful, and productive workplace. Positive labor relations are two-way street both sides must give a little and try to work together. Relationship building is key to successful labor relations.

Precautions and Prescriptions

The management should take care of following aspects to develop a culture of trust and confidence upon the employees. 

1. Always ensure that the managers involved in the grievance handling procedures have a quiet place to meet with the complainant. 

2. Always ensure that managers have adequate time to be devoted to the complainant.

3. Explain manager's role, the policy and the procedures clearly in the grievance handling procedure. 

4. Fully explaining the situation to the employee to eliminate any misunderstanding and promote better acceptance of the situation complained of.

5. Try to let employee present their issues without prejudging or commenting

6. Do use a positive, friendly ways to resolve the crisis than punitive steps, which disturb the system.

7. Do remain calm, cool, collected during the course of the meeting.

8. Always focus on the subject of the grievance than allied issues.

9. Don't make threats manage the grievances.

10. Never make use of allegations against personalities. 

11. Be aware of the staff member's potential concerns to the possible repercussions of raising a grievance.

12. Don't become angry, belligerent, or hostile during grievance handling procedure. 

13. Do listen for the main point of arguments and any possible avenue to resolve the grievance. 

14. Listen and respond sensitively to any distress exhibited by the employees.

15. Eliminating the source of the irritation or discomfort being complained of.

16. Reassure them that the managers will be acting impartially and that your hope is to resolve the matter if possible.

17. Don't "horse trade" or swap one grievance for another (where the union wins one, management wins one). Each case should be decided on its merits. 

18. Avoid usage of verbosisms like  "it will be taken care of." 

19. Ensure effective, sensitive and confidential communication between all involved.

20. Take all possible steps to ensure that no victimization occurs as a result of the grievance being raised.  

21. The investigator or decision maker acts impartially, which means they must exclude themselves if there is any bias or conflict of interest.

22. All parties are heard and those who have had complaints made against others are given an opportunity to respond. 

23. Try to look upon the problem on different angles for appropriate understanding.

24. Ensuring that there is proper investigation of the facts and figures related the problem under concern.

25. Consider all relevant information in the investigation process.  

26. Ask the staff member their preferred resolution option, although it is important to make it clear that this may not be a possible outcome.

27. Be aware of the limits of authority of the person who involved in the grievance handling procedures.

28. If the manager feels that he/she is not the appropriate person (senior manager) to deal with the issue refer the complainant to the appropriate person as soon as possible.

29. Try to get a better idea of whether the alleged discrimination or harassment happened or didn't happen. 

30. Tell them exactly what they are supposed to have done, to whom and explain, why this may be seen as discrimination/harassment or as inappropriate.

31. Grievances are preferably to be settled informally at the level of the employee's immediate supervisor.

32. Try the level best to involve team members to resolve the crisis at unit level itself.

33. Avoid as far as possible the union involvement in conflict resolution situation process.

34. Follow documentation the procedures, of all necessary steps taken to resolve the problem/complaint.

A grievance is a sign of employee’s discontent with job and its nature. The employee has got certain aspirations and expectations which he thinks must be fulfilled by the organisation where he is working. When the organisation fails to satisfy the employee needs, he develops a feeling of discontent or dissatisfaction. Thus, grievance is caused due to the difference between the employee expectation and management practices.

Breach defines a grievances as “ any dissatisfaction or feeling of injustice in connection with one’s employment situation that is brought to the notice of the management

Jucius defines a grievance as “---- any discontent or dissatisfaction, whether exposed or not, whether valid or not, arising out of anything connected with the company which an employee thinks, believes or even feels to be unfair, unjust or inequitable.

Grievances, if they are not identified and redressed, may affect adversely the workers,managers and their organisation. The effects include:

1.On production:

• Low quality of production
• Low quality of production and productivity
• Increase in the wastage of material, spoilage/leakage of machinery.
• Increase in the cost of production per unit.

2.On employees:

• Increase in the rate of absenteeism and turnover
• Reduces the level of commitment, sincerity and punctuality.
• Increases the incidence of accidents.
• Reduces the level of employee morale.

3.On managers:

• Strains the superior-subordinate relations.
• Increases the degree of supervision, control and follow up.
• Increases in disciplinary action cases.
• Increases in unrest and, thereby, machinery to maintain industrial peace

Q.6.Write a note on types of groups.

Answer:

Types of Groups

Fern Nichols started Moms In Touch in 1984 out of a desperate desire to pray with at least one other mom for the needs of her children and their junior high school. The ministry soon flourished as other moms caught the vision of covering each school in prayer. While most MITI women are in Traditional Groups, which pray for one school, over the years we have expanded our groups to include women who pray for children from different schools, but come together regularly to pray through the Four Steps of Prayer.

In keeping with the mission of Moms In Touch International, groups which pray for children who are not students will choose a school to pray for, possibly a child’s future or previous school, or another school in the area which does not have its own MITI group. Then, during the school intercession time, the group will pray for the teachers, the administration and students at the chosen school(s).

Groups that pray for more than one school should not feel compelled to do Words and Deeds. Their love, support and encouragement for the staff is in the form of your prayers.

Group Types

Traditional: The traditional Moms In Touch group prays for a specific school.

College/University: Prayer is a special way of connecting with a college student, whether living away or remaining at home.

Career: Mothers of adult children who are no longer in school can still be praying for this important season in their child’s life.

Grandmothers: Grandmothers can pray with a group for the school their grandchildren attend or they can form a Grandmothers Group.

Church-based: Women in a local community may choose to meet together in an area church to pray for their children and the schools they attend. Several schools and all ages of children may be represented.

Children with Special Needs: Mothers who have children with special needs often pray in Traditional or Church-based Groups. However, for moms who wish to pray specifically with those who understand the uniqueness of raising a child with special needs, they can form a Special Needs Group.

Homeschool: Homeschool moms are in a unique position to pray for themselves as both teacher and mom.

Language-based: Moms who come together based on a language other than English, such as Spanish, Korean or Chinese, can register as a Language-based Group.

Military: Mothers with sons or daughters in the military may choose to pray with a Career Group or form their own Military Group.

Preschool: A Preschool Group can be a group praying for children who attend preschool, or it can be a group praying for children not yet attending school.

Prison/Jail: MITI leaders minister to moms in prison by facilitating an hour of prayer for the children these moms so desperately miss. 

Prodigal: Mothers of wayward children can feel isolated and distraught. Meeting to pray with other moms can bring hope as together the children are lifted to the Lord. Moms of prodigal children can form a Prodigal Group or can pray with any relevant group type.

Working Moms: Moms who work outside the home can pray together before work, at lunch, after work or on the weekend.