Lesson-13

Staffing-- Introduction to Human Resource Management, Planning and Planning

Process

Learning Objectives

After studying this lesson, you should understand:

• What does Human Resource management mean

• Its planning and planning process

Human Resource

Once when what was the secret of success of Sony Corporation its founder Mr. Akio
Mortia remarked that there is no ‘magic’ in the success of Japanese companies in general
and Sony in particular. The secret of their success was simply the way they treat their
employees. Under Mortia, Sony was built on the premise that employees were the most
valuable part of the company. It is the people who are its permanent associates and it is
they who serve the organization with their work, talent, creativity and drive.

The concept of HR emerged in the mid 1980s against the background of the works of
famous writers on management, like Pascale and Athos (1981) and Peters and Waterman
(1982), who produced lists of the attributes that they claimed characterized successful
companies.

The American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) has developed different
functions of HRM leading to quality of work life, productivity and readiness for change.
The different functions are as follows:

• Training and development focus

• Organizational development
• Organization/Job design focus
• Human resources planning focus
• Selection and staffing
• Personal research and information systems
• Compensation/benefits focus
• Employee assistance focus
• Union/labor relations focus

Fomburn et al in 1984 introduced the HRM concept consisting of four generic processes
or functions. These are:

1. Selection-- Matching available human resources to jobs.

2. Appraisal-- Performance management.

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3. Rewards-- It should reward short as well as long-term achievements.
4. Development-- Developing high quality employees.

Rewards

Selection Performance Performance

Management

Development

Figure 13.1: The Human Resource Cycle-- Fomburn et al (1984)

Another name for managerial function of human resource management is staffing. The
managerial function of staffing is defined as filling, and keeping filled, positions in the
organization structure. This includes identifying work-force requirements, inventorying
the people available and recruiting, selecting, placing, promoting, appraising, planning
the careers of, compensating and training or otherwise developing both candidates and
current jobholders to accomplish their tasks effectively and efficiently. In other words,
human resource management encompasses those activities designed to provide, motivate
and coordinate the human resources of an organization.

There is a saying that the company he keeps knows a man and similarly the people it is
comprised of know an organization. Without competent people, organizations will either
pursue inappropriate goals or find it difficult to achieve the desired goals. Human
dynamics play an important role in surmounting obstacles, defusing complex situations
and achieving organizational goals. It is because of this reason that some organizations
succeed in spite of major obstacles, environmental changes and challenges, while others
crumble rather quickly under external pressures.

The changing internal environment in organizations calls for better understanding of

human resource management. The culture or climate of an organization is made up of
traditions, values, habits, and ways of organizing and interpersonal relationships at work.
The major elements of HRM strategy and functions can be related to organizational
culture.

Corporate mission or philosophy and strategic plan give birth to culture in organizations.
Human resource planning defines the balance of demand and supply of human resources
in the organization, training and development play an important role in instilling the
culture while goal setting and appraisals make the culture performance oriented and
enable it to operate with predictability, reward management reinforces the culture and
succession planning helps in maintaining the culture. Earlier, productivity was the focus
but now retention of human resource is considered to be equally important.

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Planning and Planning Process

Human Resource Planning (HRP) is not merely a piece of the personnel staff function;
but is a management process. Effective human resource planning is a process of
analyzing an organization’s human resource needs under changing conditions and
developing the activities necessary to satisfy these needs. It is essentially a two-step
process as shown in figure 11-2 below.

Need Forecasting

Analysis of external conditions

• Economic, social and political factors

• Government and legislation
• Population and workforce
• Markets and competition
• Technology

Future HR requirements Future HR availability

• Organization and job design • Current inventory of talent
• Plans and budgets • Known wastages
• Management policies • Forecasted movement
• Technology and systems • Effects of HR programs
• Affirmative action plans

Forecast of HR needs
• Immediate and long-term needs
• External hiring needs
• Reductions and reallocations
• Improved utilization and development

Program Planning

Performance management Career management

Organization Policies and systems
-Activities -Recruitment
-Relationships -Selection and placement

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 -Responsibilities -Promotion and transfer
-Standards -Training and development
-Quality of work life -Termination/retirement

Performance appraisal Career opportunities

-Performance plans and goals -Job requirements
-Coaching -Career paths
-Evaluation -Career communication

Rewards structures Management Succession

-Compensation -Individual assessment
-Benefits -Position requirements
-Replacement charting
-Succession planning

Individual career planning

-Self-analysis
-Personal career plans
-Development action plans

The emergence of HR planning reflects a broadening of the mission of the personnel

function. New full time staff roles have been established in many companies to provide
support to managerial practices in HRP. HRP professionals fulfill various roles,
depending on the tasks and organizational priorities.

HRP is itself a process of anticipating needs for change in an organization and of

monitoring responses to these needs. HRP links a company’s business plans and broad
objectives with the specific programs and activities that make-up HRM.

Companies commonly prepare annual forecasts of staffing needs as a base for external
recruitment, promotions and annual training program planning. But this one-year
planning horizon fails to consider long-range business plans and needs, such as new
facilities, new products, retrenchments and expansion. Effective human resource planning
involves long-range career development and long range planning for utilization of human
resources in an organization.

The role of human resource planning is to incorporate the planning and control of human
resources into the corporate level plans so that all resources are used together in the best
possible combination.

Another important objective of HRP is to coordinate all company manpower policies. It

is necessary to translate the objectives of the company into the personnel activities which
make them achievable. Achievement of these objectives leads to a reduction in staff costs
not only through an overall improvement in productivity, but also through the possibility
of giving training, recruitment and the other personnel decisions a better direction. In

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addition, the danger of the company’s plans failing due to not having the right people in
the right place at the right time is also obviated.

Process-- HRP has been defined the strategy for acquisition, utilization, improvement and
preservation of an organization’s manpower. Proper approach to manpower utilization,
training and development are essential for the success of a manpower plan is as is the
balancing of the supply and demand of manpower.

1. An inventory of existing manpower should be made.

2. Estimation of current supply and forecast of changes required.
3. Estimation of manpower demand.
4. Correcting the imbalances between demand and supply of manpower.

Advance in computer technology have offered organizations new opportunities to

enhance and streamline their processes. Usually higher knowledge, skills and ability are
required for operating and maintaining new technology and participating in innovative
processes. For skilled workers and office staff, the manual content of skill tends to
decrease but requirements for mathematical skills and ability to plan and anticipate future
situations tend to increase. A more democratic and decentralized management style is
necessary to motivate highly educated employees.

The present education system of our country is inadequate to match the technological
needs. Companies will, therefore, have to add these skills through training at appropriate
intervals.