ASSIGNMENTS- MBA Semester-3

Subject code MU0001

MANPOWER PLANNING AND RESOURCING

Submitted to

SIKKIM MANIPAL UNIVERSITY

By

Ajay Vilakkumadathil
Reg # 520921832
 Master of Business Administration-MBA Semester 3
MU0001 – Manpower Planning and Resourcing - 2 Credits
(Book ID: B0816)
Assignment Set- 1

Q.1 Elaborate the Process of Manpower Planning

Process of Manpower Planning

The process of human resource planning is one of the most crucial, complex and

continuing managerial functions which, according to the Tata Electrical Locomotive

Company ³embraces organization development, management development, career

planning and succession planning.´ The process has gained importance in India with

the increase in the size of business enterprises, complex production technology and

the adoption of professional management technique. It may be rightly regarded as a

multi-step process, including various issues, such as:

a) Deciding goals or objectives

b) Estimating future organizational structure and manpower requirements

c) Auditing human resources

d) Planning job requirement and job descriptions and

e) Developing a human resource plan.

a) Deciding goals or objectives:

Human resource planning fulfils individual, organizational and national goals; but,

according to Sikula, “The ultimate mission or purpose is to relate future human

resource to future enterprise needs so as to maximize the future return on

investment in human resources.” In effect, the main purpose is one of matching or

fitting employee abilities to enterprise requirements, with an emphasis on the future

instead of present arrangements. The objectives may be laid down for a short-term

(i,e, for one year). For example, the short-term objective may be to hire 25 persons

from schedule tribes or backward class for the purposes of training. The long- term

objective may be to start a new industry, to expand the market, to produce a new
product, to develop its own sales force rather than depend on distributors, or to have

minority group members eventually in position of middle and upper management

cadres.

b) Estimating the future organizational structure or forecasting the

manpower Requirements:

The management must estimate the structure of the organization at a given point in

time. For this estimate the number and type of employees needed must be

determined. Many environment factors affect this determination. They include

business forecasts expansion and growth, design and structural changes,

management philosophy, government policy, product and human skills mix and

competition. Forecasting provides the basic premises on which the manpower

planning is built. Forecasting is necessary for various reasons which have been stated

below:

(a) The eventualities and contingencies of general economic business cycle (such as

inflation, wages, prices, costs and raw materials supplies) have an influence on the

short- range and long-run plans of all organizations.

(b) An expansion following enlargement and growth in business involves the use of

additional machinery and personnel, and a re-allocation of facilities, all of which call

for advance planning of human resources.

(c) Changes in management philosophies and leadership styles.

(d) The use of mechanical technology (such as the introduction of automatic controls,

or the mechanization of materials handling functions) necessitate changes in the

skills of workers, as well as a change in the number of employees needed.

(e)Very often, changes in the quantity or quality of products or services require

changes in the organization structure. Plans have to be made for this purpose as

well.

After estimating what the future organization structure should be, the next step is to

draw up the requirements of human resources, both for the existing department and

for new vacancies. For this purpose, a forecast of labor force is needed, and

requisition should be obtained from different departments, i,e., forecast has to be

made in returns of functional category; the members needed; and the levels at which
they are required. Vacancies, occurring in any department, should be notified in

writing by different department heads to the personnel department, stating clearly

the number of vacancies to be filled, job or category-wise types of personnel needed,

their technical qualification and experience and the reasons for acquisition (I.e.,

whether for replacement or addition); a statement of duties, type of jobs pay scales,

age, and previous experience should also be made. Requisitions should be based on

accurate job specifications by first line supervisor. They should, as for as possible,

state the exact demands of a job. In determining the requirements of human

resources, the expected losses which are likely to occur through labor turnover-

quits, retirements, death, transfers, promotions, demotions, dismissals, disability,

resignations, lay-off and other separations- should be taken into account.

Changes in the human quality resulting from the experience gained in the jobs during

the period and the training achieved also need to be considered. The addition of new

lines of production and new projects also influence the demand estimates of human

resources. The basic fact to remember is that the human resource in an organization

constantly changes in terms of its present and future size. Additional human

resources are gained through new employment of personnel, promotions, through

transfers and demotions; but personnel is lost through voluntary quits, death

dismissals, termination and retirements. After making adjustments for wastage,

anticipated and expected losses and separations, the real shortage or surplus may be

found out. If a shortage is there, efforts are made to meet it either by new

recruitments or promotion from within, or by developing the existing staff. If there is

a surplus, it is to be decided how it will be dealt with, i.e., whether there should be

transfers, lay-offs, retrenchment or reduction in the hours of work of all.

Underestimation of the quality and number of the employees required would lead to

shortfalls in performance, while overestimation would result in avoidable cost to the

organization. According to Dr. Ram Tarneja, ³Management can ensure control of labor

costs by avoiding both shortages and surpluses of manpower through proper

manpower planning.´ It may be noted that for purposes of manpower planning, the

main dimensions to be taken into consideration are:

(i) The total number of personnel available: This could be obtained from the pay-rolls

and other personnel records, such as the applications for employment. The total

number has to be classified on some basis, such as manual workers (i.e., daily-rated,

weekly-rated or monthly-rated); clerical employees, ministerial staff, managers and

other executives; specialists and skilled and unskilled workers; sex-wise distribution,

etc.

(ii) The job-family: A detailed job-description for each position such as stenographers

who may belong to various departments, e.g. finance, marketing, personnel, public

relation, general administration, etc.

(iii) Age distribution of the employees, available in the present departments, say in

the age-group 20-29 years; 30-45 years, 46 years and above.

(iv) Qualification and experience desire, such as a person with 5 years or 10 years

experience in a particular branch/ job; and whether under-graduate, post- graduate

or MBAs or gradates in Science, Commerce, Arts, Engineering, Professional Diploma-

holders, etc; or with specialized knowledge in the field of marketing, finance,

computer programming or engineering work.

v) The salary range etc

c) Auditing Human Resources:

Once the future human resource needs are estimated, the next step is to determine

the present supply of manpower resources. This is done through what is called “Skills

inventory.” A skills inventory contains data about each employee’s skill abilities, work

preference and other items of information which indicate his overall value to the

company. Some organizations do not compile a skills inventory but prepare

organization charts to determine how many people, at what level, in what position

and what kind of experience and training would be required to meet the objectives.

These charts show a person’s age, the number of years he has been in a particular

position, and his fitness for promotion. These charts or skill inventories help in

determining and evaluating the quantity and quality of the present human resources

of an organization. They tell us what exist in stock and what is needed to be added

to that stock, taking into account the capability qualification, experience a Manning

table which into account the employees. Some companies maintain a manning table
which lists all the jobs in the unit and the number of workers holding each job. Other

companies also use Replacement charts, which show the present performance of

each position holder and the promotional potential of possible replacements.

d) Planning job requirement and job descriptions

Once the present manpower resources are determined, the personnel department

can estimate what changes will occur in the present labor force in the next few years,

say 5 years.

Job Analysis: After having decided how many persons would be needed, it is

necessary to prepare a job analysis, which records details of training, skills,

qualification, abilities, experience and responsibility, etc. which are needed for a job.

Job analysis includes the preparation of job descriptions and job specifications.

e) Developing a Human Resource Plan:

This step refers to the development and implementation of the human resource plan

which consists in finding out the sources of labor supply with a view to making an

effective use of these sources. The first thing, therefore, to decide on the policy is-

whether the personnel should be hired from within through promotional channels or

should it be obtained from an outside source. The best policy which is followed by

most organizations is to fill up higher vacancies by promotion and lower level position

by recruitment from the labor market. The labor market is a geographic area from

which employers recruit their work force and labor seeks employment. Here the force

of demand and supply interact. A labor market generally has the following

characteristics:

(a) It highly unstructured and unorganized, for a majority of workers are illiterate and

ignorant and do not have any information about available job opportunities.

(b) The procedures by which companies recruit workers and the methods by which

workers go about getting jobs are highly variable.

(c) A great range of wage rates for the same occupation exits in the labor market

depending upon the attitude of the management towards wage levels, the

employer’s ability to pay and the productivity of labor.

(d) Labor is mostly not mobile either because it has incomplete or inaccurate

knowledge of job opportunities and available wages or because of lack of job

security.

(e) The supply of labor fluctuates and is influenced by the population in the labor

market the attractiveness of job (benefits, service wage, rates, and the reputation of

a company), the extent of unemployment and the particular skills that are in

demand.

(f) Manual labor for unskilled jobs has been replaced by activities that require skills,

scientific knowledge, technical acumen and professional training.

Various external factors influence the outflow and inflow of manpower resources. A

few such factors that operate at local level are:

(i) Population density at various distances from the factory or work place:

(ii) Local unemployment level, particularly of the categories which are relevant for

the operation of the organizations

(iii) Availability of part time labor.

(iv) Current competition for similar categories of manpower from other organizations:

(v) Output from the educational system (general as well as technical);

(vi) Pattern of in-migration and out-migration within the area and between it and

(vii) Transport facilities and communication pattern.

At the corporate level, other factors operate, viz.,

(i) Trends in the growth of the working population;

(ii) Government training schemes and system of technical, vocational, professional,

and general education, and their out-turn;

(iii) Impact of social security measures on manpower supply;

(iv)Mobility of the products of the technical, professional and vocational institutions;

(v) Cultural factors and customs, social norms, affecting school leaving age, labor

force participation of women, children and young persons.

The personnel manager should have a thorough knowledge of the labor market.

Which particular source in the labor market will be tapped depends upon the policy of

a firm, the position of labor supply, the arrangement with labor unions, and

Government regulations. However, it is always safe for the personnel manager to be

in close liaison with these different sources and use them as and when the need

arises.

Q.2 Discuss the functions of Manpower Planning.

Manpower Planning which is also called as Human Resource Planning consists of

putting right number of people, right kind of people at the right place, right time,

doing the right things for which they are suited for the achievement of goals of the

organization. Human Resource Planning has got an important place in the arena of

industrialization. Human Resource Planning has to be a systems approach and is

carried out in a set procedure. The procedure is as follows:

1. Analyzing the current manpower inventory.

2. Making future manpower forecasts.

3. Developing employment programmes.

4. Design training programmes.

1. Analyzing the current manpower inventory- Before a manager makes

forecast of future manpower, the current manpower status has to be analysed. For

this the following things have to be noted-

• Type of organization

• Number of departments

• Number and quantity of such departments

• Employees in these work units

Once these factors are registered by a manager, he goes for the future forecasting.
2. Making future manpower forecasts- Once the factors affecting the future

manpower forecasts are known, planning can be done for the future manpower

requirements in several work units.

The Manpower forecasting techniques commonly employed by the organizations are

as follows:

i. Expert Forecasts: This includes informal decisions, formal expert surveys

and Delphi technique.

ii. Trend Analysis: Manpower needs can be projected through extrapolation

(projecting past trends), indexation (using base year as basis), and statistical

analysis (central tendency measure).

iii. Work Load Analysis: It is dependent upon the nature of work load in a

department, in a branch or in a division.

iv. Work Force Analysis: Whenever production and time period has to be

analyzed, due allowances have to be made for getting net manpower

requirements.

v. Other methods: Several Mathematical models, with the aid of computers are

used to forecast manpower needs, like budget and planning analysis,

regression, new venture analysis.

3. Developing employment programmes- Once the current inventory is

compared with future forecasts, the employment programmes can be framed and

developed accordingly, which will include recruitment, selection procedures and

placement plans.

4. Design training programmes- These will be based upon extent of

diversification, expansion plans, development programmes,etc. Training programmes

depend upon the extent of improvement in technology and advancement to take

place. It is also done to improve upon the skills, capabilities, knowledge of the

workers.
Q.3 Smart Invest is a financial company which has been functioning for past

15 years. The company decides to have computerized the office 7 years

ago. Now it has decided to use the application of information system in

HRM.

Suggest that how and in what all activities they could are the information

system.

Information System Applications in Human Resource Management A unified data

model provides a single, accurate view of HR activities ranging from recruitment,

employment, training, performance management, compensation management and

real time management. Oracle human resource leverage workflow and internet-

based processes optimize various HRM activities. The system maintains global HR

data in case of Trans-national companies and total organizational human resource

data in case of national companies in a single location for accurate and easy

availability.

The system of applications of Information Technology (IT) in HRM is referred to as

Human Resource Module. HRIS merges some of HRM functions with the IT field,

wherein the planning and programming of data processing systems have evolved

into standardized routines and packages of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

software. ERP integrates the human resource module with finance, production, and

sales and administration modules.

Generally, traditional HRM functions are common to all organizations. They consist of

tracking data regarding personal histories, family details, skills, capabilities,

experiences, pay, benefits and grievances. Performance of these functions are

increasingly complex, must be performed at the lowest possible cost and also at a
fast rate, which pose increased challenges for HR professionals. Organizations have

started to automate these functions by introducing HRIS technology.

Development of client -server HRIS enables HR executives to assume responsibility

and ownership of their systems compared to client-server architecture, which came

largely in the form of mainframe computers and necessitated heavy capital

investment to purchase program proprietary software. HRIS is developed around six

main areas of human resource management viz., e-recruitment/applicant tracking, e-

training, e- payroll, e-benefits, e-self service and e-time and labor management.

E-Recruitment / Applicant Tracking

E-recruitment manages job descriptions and job vacancies, search for candidates and

the interview process. It is also referred to as an applicant- racking system; this is a

web-based application that enables the electronic handling of organizational

employment needs. These activities include posting job advertisement on web sites

to stimulate and attract candidates, known as job boards. Job boards allow

candidates to apply on-line and the candidates¶ data are stored on a database that

allows searching, screening and filtering of applications. The application tracking

system shortlists the candidates and arranges for interview and recruitment- related

activities. E-recruitment maintains profiles, searches for and refers jobs to colleagues

and follows the recruitment process. It integrates resume extraction capabilities

using the Magnaware / Mohomine extraction engine to search for potential

candidates. It uses event-driven applicant tracking and manages positions on

multiple external websites. E-recruitment/applicant tracking system reduce

administrative tasks, cost and time required to perform recruitment activities.

E-training

E-training provides a complete, scalable and open infrastructure that allows

organizations to manage, deliver, and track employee training participation in on-line

or classroom-based environments. Trainees interact with content and/or trainers at

their own pace. Managers set the business flow from order processing to delivery and

performance management to training output automatically. E-training systems

deploy content to global learners; make use of mixed media and multiple discrete

sites on a single instance of the application, define competencies attained by

trainees, and update the trainees’ competency profiles. It aims to ensure that HRM

provides the right resources, competent and experienced trainers, and consolidate

training initiatives on a scalable and cost effective basis. In addition, it aims to

measure training effectiveness. E-training, provides learning opportunities not only to

employees, but to customer and all other stakeholders by providing one-stop

administration, automated catalogue distribution and enrollment and collaborative

sites with other strategic partners.

E-payroll

E-payroll models automatically collect data regarding employee attendance and work

record for the purpose of evaluating work performance, they calculate various

deductions including tax, and generate periodic pay cheques and tax reports. Payroll

modules in turn send data and accounting information to the general ledger for

posting and subsequent operations and they frequently integrate e-payroll with e-

finance management. Payroll systems can define standard rules for automatically

assigning and changing employee salary by using simple formulae. They are able to

control processing rules and calculations using fast formula and use logic for complex

cases. They can manage global compensation with one application by implementing

a core payroll engine and installing local extensions to add the necessary

functionality, reporting and process for individual countries.

E-payroll is able to process from data, simultaneously, fully reconciled results and

multiple employee groups. By preparing paperless online pay slips, the system is

able to reduce administrative costs and time for the total operations. Employees too

can view their exclusive data and get personalized reports.

E-benefits

E-benefits administration models enable HR professionals to track and administer

diverse and complex benefit plans, employee benefit programs which may involve

transpiration medical and health care, insurance, pension, profit-sharing, and stock

option benefits. Such modules, through internet- based automation, can enable HR to

improve benefits support and analysis whilst reducing time and costs involved in the

administration, while increasing the consistency decisions on compliance issues at

various levels across the organization.

E-self service human resource

E-self service HR modules collect process and manage all other kinds of data and

information. For example, employees’ demography profiles and addresses

recruitment, selection training, development, promotions, capabilities, skill mapping

and compensation planning. Such a module would allow individual employees to

update and use employee-specific information, personalized to an individual’s role,

experience, work content, language and information needs. Thus, individual

employee and managers are empowered to update information in order to streamline

business processes, reduce costs and errors, increase speed, and enhance service.

This module helps employees in managing everything from profiles including skills,

resumes, contact details, self-appraisal data, bank data, learning, benefits and

payroll. It empowers managers to operate transfers, employee training enrollment,

performance appraisals, competency mapping, career planning and development and

terminations.

E-time and labor

E-time and labor automates entire time and attendance records keeping process and

operations through an automatically generated virtual time card. It provides an

intuitive, web-based interface. The time and labor management module, by

interacting with information technology, collects and evaluates time and work

information. This module provides broad flexibility in data collection methods, human

resource distribution capabilities and data analysis, and helps in establishing

organizational cost accounting capabilities. This module allows entering time via web

browser, mobile device and time card. It defines rotation plans based on shifts and

work plans and employee mobility among departments or units. It supports policies

for holidays, over-time, and rounding. It improves reporting, extracting, and

processing with a single database of employee time-related information. This module

is integrated automatically with other modules of human resource management like

payroll and benefits.