Chapter 1

Human Resources Planning and Staffing

Think It Over (p. 2)

1 I would recruit chefs directly from Japan for the expertise and specialised skills they would bring to the restaurant. As the restaurant targets high-income customers, recruiting chefs from Japan may help build a more professional corporate image among its target customers. Human resources planning plays an important role in this case. It can forecast the number (quantity) and types (quality) of employees Sushi Yama needs in order to achieve its objective (i.e., opening five outlets in Hong Kong). It also helps determine and predict the restaurants manpower needs. Moreover, it provides a necessary basis for designing and implementing other human resources management functions. 3 Mr Tanaka should recruit waiters by posting job advertisements at government employment agencies (e.g., Labour Department), and in the print media (e.g., newspapers, magazines etc.). He could also advertise job vacancies on job hunting websites such as JobsDB.com and Recruit Online.

Teachers Guide
This case gives students an opportunity to think about the essential functions involved in human resources planning and staffing: 1 How a companys strategies (e.g., its chosen target market) may affect the type of personnel it has to recruit (e.g., native Japanese chef vs. Hong Kong chef)? 2 What are the issues relating to human resources planning (e.g., number of waiters/waitresses required)? 3 In what different ways can the needed employees be acquired?

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Teachers Guide
Remind students of the concept and importance of human resources management learnt in the compulsory part (Chapter 7 of Business Environment and Introduction to Management).

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Check Your Progress

Q1 HRM functions that are important for a company include: Human resources planning Staffing Performance management
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Compensation and benefit management

Training and development Maintaining a harmonious employee relationship Motivating employees to work together as a team (Any three of the above) Q2 For example, HSBC wants to expand its personal investment banking business in the coming year. In its human resources planning, it forecasts the number and type of employees it needs in order to achieve this objective. It then decides that it needs more financial planners (e.g., 100 financial planners). As a result, it starts recruiting graduates from local universities and posts its job openings on campuses at Student Affairs Offices. (Any other reasonable answers) Q3 For example, my school would like to enhance the English proficiency of its students. It will forecast the number (quantity) and type (quality) of employees it needs in order to achieve its objective in human resources planning. It may then recruit native English speakers as English teachers.

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Teachers Guide
Teachers can use more examples to show how a company can match its human resources requirements with environmental changes.

Check Your Progress

Q4 For example, in the banking industry in Hong Kong, the use of online banking and ATM machines has led to a decrease in demand for over-the-counter retail banking services. Consequently, banks may employ fewer bank tellers. (Any other reasonable answers) Q5 Real estate agencies need to consider the governments employment regulations when hiring real estate agents. Under the Estate Agents Ordinance, any individual engaged in estate agency work in Hong Kong must hold a valid estate agents or salespersons licence. Therefore, real estate agencies must ensure that their agents hold the relevant licences. They should also provide the necessary training to help new recruits acquire their licence.

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Check Your Progress

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Q6 For example, during exhibitions and trade fairs, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council may need more employees to serve exhibitors. It then hires many temporary employees to work at the exhibition hall. (Any other reasonable answers) Q7 San Miguel outsources its logistics operations to Kerry Logistics in order to focus on its core business. It can then invest more time in research and development to produce better products to achieve its company objectives. (Any other reasonable answers)

Additional Information
A company that uses an outsourcing arrangement needs to pay a contracting fee to its contractor. This arrangement can help a company save costs as the contracting fee is usually lower than the costs incurred in performing the jobs internally.

Additional Information
Factors affecting the choice of permanent hire, temporary hire and outsourcing include: Whether the companys demand for additional employees is permanent or temporary. The financial resources the company has. The degree of control the company wants to have over its employees. The degree of employee commitment the company wants to develop.

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Additional Information
Companies should take several factors into consideration when choosing downsizing methods. These factors are: the possible impact on the firms corporate image the financial resources that the company possesses the possible impact on employees morale and loyalty

Additional Information
Although this method cannot help the company reduce a large number of employees within a short period, it creates the least negative impacts on the morale and well-being of existing employees.

Additional Information
Employees who leave the company under this arrangement usually receive additional compensation
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on top of the amount required by law.

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Teachers Guide
It is hard to draw any conclusion as to whether such a decision is right or wrong. What students are expected to discuss are views from different perspectives. For example, they may discuss the firms responsibility to maximise profits for its shareholders (thus justifying the layoff). They may also discuss the social responsibility (including that which is staff-related) the firm should bear when making business decisions. Q8 Caf de Coral should recruit permanent employees to perform front-line operations at its new outlets. Hiring employees as permanent staff can provide them with more job security. Its service quality can thus be maintained. However, since fast food operations are subject to daily fluctuations in demand, the company may also consider hiring a small number of part-time front-line employees to help out during peak hours.

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Additional Information
This explains why companies need to offer more attractive remuneration packages (e.g., higher salaries, travel allowances) to attract job applicants when the economy is booming (i.e., when the unemployment rate is low).

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Check Your Progress

Q9 The major factors include: Government policies, regulations and laws The governments policies, regulations and laws (e.g., requirements to become a recognised accounting professional in Hong Kong, policies regarding training accounting professionals in Hong Kong) have a significant impact on the external supply of accounting managers for the trading company. Size and composition of the labour force The total number of accounting professionals available in the job market definitely affects the supply of accounting professionals. Skill shortages If there are skill shortages in the labour market (i.e., the number of people who possess
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accounting skills is decreasing), the trading company will find it difficult to recruit employees. This may lower the companys external supply of suitable candidates. Recently, there seems to be a shortage of accounting professionals in the market. The shortage is even more serious if companies want to hire accounting professionals who also have managerial and/or trading experience. This may further lower the companys external supply of suitable candidates. Ageing of the workforce The average age of the workforce reflects the amount of external labour supply in the near future. An ageing workforce indicates a decrease in the labour supply of accounting managers in future. Unemployment rate If the unemployment rate is low, the trading company will find it difficult to recruit a sufficient number of quality employees. Competition and geographic considerations If the trading company operates in an area with many large competitors, it will probably find it difficult to recruit a suitable number of employees. Similarly, if the trading company is located in a remote area, it may have difficulty attracting employees because transportation time and costs are higher. (Any three of the above) Q10 A skills inventory consolidates information about the companys human resources. It provides information about all employees basic characteristics, skills, qualifications and experience relevant to promotion and transfer decisions. A skills inventory for a school usually comprises the following information: Personal data of the teachers and other administrative/clerical staff: age, gender, marital status Skills of the teachers and other administrative/clerical staff: educational and professional qualifications, working experience, training received Salary and employment history of the teachers and other administrative/clerical staff: present and past salaries, dates of salary increases, positions held before, previous employment history More detailed information with their present school: benefit plan data, retirement information, seniority, appraisal results, etc. Capacity of the teachers and other administrative/clerical staff: test scores on aptitude and/or psychological tests (if any), health information
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 Specific preferences of teachers and other administrative/clerical staff: work location, type of job

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Teachers Guide
Teachers can quote more examples on how the use of information may affect the choice of the data collection method.

Teachers Guide
Remind students about the concept of the organisation chart mentioned in Chapter 5 of Business Environment and Introduction to Management.

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Additional Information
Using questionnaires to collect information is a quick and efficient means of obtaining information from a large number of employees. It is also less costly than interviewing a lot of employees. However, developing the questionnaire and testing it can be expensive and time-consuming. HR managers often use both direct observation and interviews to collect information. First, they directly observe all of the job activities performed by employees. Then, they interview the employees to obtain some clarification and ask them to explain what other duties they perform.

Additional Information
Conducting interviews provides an opportunity for HR managers to explain the need for and functions of job analysis. Employees can also air frustrations that might have gone unnoticed by management. The main problem in conducting interviews is distortion of information. As job analysis is often used to change a jobs pay rate, employees may tend to exaggerate certain responsibilities while minimising others. Obtaining valid information can thus be a slow process. HR managers may get multiple inputs from different interviewees.

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Check Your Progress

Q11 A job specification of a schoolteacher is as follows: Knowledge: Certified in relevant subject area (Bachelors Degree or higher, Masters Degree preferred)
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Skill: At least two years experience as a schoolteacher Fluent written and oral communication in Cantonese and English Effort factors: Physical requirements: Physically fit to perform day-to-day teaching work Other requirements: Possess strong organisational and communication skills Demonstrate strong work ethic to achieve academy goals Display effective multi-tasking and time management skills Q12 A job description is a written statement that lists a jobs duties, responsibilities, reporting relationships and working conditions. The job description of a schoolteacher is as follows: Job title: Schoolteacher Reports to: Principal Department: BAFS panel Job Family: Teaching

Job Summary: This position carries responsibility for developing schemes of work and lesson plans in line with curriculum objectives. It also involves developing and fostering appropriate skills and social abilities to enable students optimum development, according to their age, ability and aptitude. Responsibilities and duties: Organise learning resources and modify them to meet students needs Implement instructional activities in accordance with lesson plans Facilitate learning by establishing a relationship with students and cultivating a positive classroom learning environment Plan and organise extracurricular activities for students Communicate effectively with students, parents and other professionals Authority of the jobholder: Supervisory authority: one teaching assistant as subordinate Working conditions: mainly work at Tung Chung School Q13 The methods used in collecting data for job analysis for the position of production supervisor of a garment manufacturing company are: Observation: Observe what duties and responsibilities are usually performed by a typical
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production supervisor at the garment manufacturing company. Interviews: Gather job-related details by interviewing production supervisors at the garment manufacturing company. Questionnaires: Gather job-related details by using questionnaires to collect the needed data from production supervisors at the garment manufacturing company. Q14 (a) The job description of the shop manager is as follows: Job title: Shop Manager Reports to: Division Manager Department: Operations Department Job family: Restaurant management Job summary: This position is responsible for overseeing operations at the restaurant in order to maintain high quality standards and customer service. The shop manager will also be responsible for staff management, quality and inventory control and execution of the companys sales and marketing strategies. Responsibilities and Duties: Drive sales and increase revenues at the restaurant by promoting the store, motivate employees to increase sales and provide excellent customer service Hire, train, schedule and motivate employees for all work shifts Supervise and manage the workforce to ensure smooth operations at the restaurant Ensure the proper types and amounts of food and drink merchandise are ordered and stocked to maintain an appropriate inventory level Provide courteous service to customers and respond promptly to customers enquiries, complaints and requests Authority of the jobholder: Supervisory authority: 20 front-line staff, four chefs and other kitchen helpers as subordinates Working conditions: mainly work at the Kowloon Bay outlet, with occasional shift duty required (b) The job specification of the shop manager is as follows: Job title: Shop Manager Knowledge: F.5 standard or above Knowledge of restaurants operations in the fast food industry Skill: Minimum of three years solid management experience in the catering industry

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Effort factors: Physical requirements: Physically fit to perform day-to-day management work in a restaurant Other requirements: Strong interpersonal, communication and leadership skills Customer-oriented and able to work under pressure p.23

Teachers Guide
Highlight the advantages and disadvantages of the two manpower sources.

Check Your Progress

Q15 Companies want to fill their positions with external candidates as this can provide the company with new insights and skills. This can also save on the costs of training existing employees for new posts. The unavailability of sufficient candidates inside the company is another reason to seek external candidates.

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Teachers Guide
Remind students about the concept of the intranet mentioned in Chapter 9 of Business Environment and Introduction to Management.

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Additional Information
Campus recruitment is an important tool for a company to develop its long-term human capital. Nowadays, many companies use campus recruitment to acquire management trainees, young professionals (e.g., accountants) and technical employees (e.g., engineers). However, it is often expensive (in terms of administrative costs) and time consuming (e.g., six months to one year) to acquire the right employees by this method. Newly recruited graduates also need to receive extensive training before they can become productive.

Additional Information
Companies post their job openings through commercial employment agencies for several reasons. The following are some circumstances under which a company may turn to commercial employment agencies for help:
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 The company does not have its own HR department and is not geared to recruiting and screening. The company has found it difficult in the past to generate a pool of qualified applicants. The company must fill an opening quickly. There is a perceived need to attract a greater number of minority or female applicants. The company wants to reach currently employed individuals who might feel more comfortable dealing with agencies than with competing companies. The company wants to cut down on the time devoted to recruiting.

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Additional Information
As a usual practice, the annual conferences of professional institutions/trade unions also provide a good forum for employers and members to meet and explore opportunities to establish employment relationships.

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Teachers Guide
Highlight the advantages and disadvantages of different job posting methods.

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Check Your Progress

Q16 The multinational company should not post its job opening through the Labour Department as the jobs posted there are normally entry level. Managerial personnel are not commonly recruited through the Labour Department. Besides, human resources professional will not likely go to the Labour Department to find jobs. Q17 Commercial employment agencies are not appropriate places to post job openings for management trainees. Since candidates for management trainee positions are usually fresh university graduates, companies should advertise job openings through the student affairs offices of local universities. As posting jobs there is often free of charge, this practice helps save agency fees to the commercial employment agencies. The company can also reach potential applicants more directly.

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Additional Information
Some large companies may develop in-house tests that meet their selection requirements. On the
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other hand, some companies may ask HR consultancy firms to develop the tests for them.

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Additional Information
The main problem with any of these tests is ensuring that they are relevant to the job for which the candidate has applied. A work sampling technique measures actual on-the-job tasks. As these tasks are clearly closely related to a job, it is considered a fairer method of assessing applicants ability. It is also hard for applicants to fake answers. If designed properly, a work sampling technique can be more valid than other tests designed to predict job performance.

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Additional Information
In a structured interview, the questions are usually developed from a thorough job analysis. This limits the freedom of interviewers to ask other questions. However, the same kind of information can be gathered on all interviewees and this allows for systematic collection of information important to the company.

Additional Information
An unstructured interview allows individual interviewers to exercise their own judgement in asking questions and evaluating applicants. The atmosphere of the interview may also be more relaxing. However, an unstructured interview may fall short of a systematic collection of information. The interview may also be affected by the personal biases of individual interviewers.

Additional Information
A panel interview requires applicants to handle various questions raised by different interviewers. It is a good way to assess the applicants responsiveness and ability to handle diverse questions. The use of more than one interviewer may also reduce the personal biases of a particular interviewer.

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Additional Information
A group interview enables interviewers to assess the different abilities of each applicant (e.g., communication skills, presentation skills, and the ability to work with others to solve problems). However, its major weakness is that one or a few applicants who are more aggressive will dominate the group discussion.

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Additional Information
A stress interview may threaten some applicants and make them lose interest in the company. Its use may also be ethically questionable if the job does not require the applicant to handle much stress.

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Check Your Progress

Q18 Written application forms, personality tests, interviews, reference checks and a medical examination can be used to select a civil engineer working at construction sites. (Any other reasonable answers) Q19 A store manager at a convenience store is likely to cope with a number of standardised tasks that relate to store management (managing inventory, customer services, basic bookkeeping). The interviewer can use a number of standardised questions to test applicants capability to handle these tasks. Hence, the use of a structured interview allows for a systematic collection of information important to the company so that the interviewer can easily make comparisons among the interviewees. This implies that the use of structured interviews would be adequate. Q20 It is suitable for selecting sales representatives because it tests candidates stress tolerance, emotional stability and communication skills. Sales representatives often need to handle objections from potential customers. Since they are expected to have good interpersonal and communication skills to cope with various selling situations, a stress interview is considered appropriate.

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Check Your Progress

Q21 Staffing refers to the acquisition of a sufficient number of qualified employees to fill a companys planned openings or vacancies. The three stages of staffing are: Recruitment: Recruitment concerns identifying and attracting potential candidates to apply for the job openings.

Selection: Selection refers to a companys assessment and evaluation procedures in determining which job applicant is most suitable to be hired. Employment: Employment refers to the final decision that a company makes regarding to whom the job will be offered and the terms of the offer.

Q22 The staffing process that IBM may use to fill the position of marketing manager is as follows:
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Recruitment: With a job description and a job specification, IBM can identify the type of people it requires for the position of marketing manager. For example, it may want to recruit a person with marketing experiences in a related industry. It may then attract potential candidates to apply for the position by advertising in newspapers. It may also put the job advertisement on its intranet and corporate website.

Teachers Guide
Other job posting methods (e.g., advertising through employment agencies, Internet ads and job fairs, etc) are also acceptable.

Selection: IBM then compares the relevant characteristics of each job applicant against the job requirements. It can start the preliminary screening and select potential candidates for further assessment. The assessment may be in the form of a personality test and group interview. Reference checks should also be done to verify the accuracy of the information provided by the job applicants. After evaluating all the job applicants, IBM will choose the candidate who best fits the job of marketing manager. Employment: IBM then needs to make an offer to the selected candidate and convey the details of the offer. It also needs to sign the employment contract with the candidate. It should also inform the failed candidates of the result in a polite and sincere manner so as to preserve its corporate image.

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Discussion Questions
1 Human resources planning may help solve the problem in terms of determining and predicting future manpower needs. It also helps the company identify when Jimmy will retire so that the bank will be well prepared for a smooth succession. In other words, it should find suitable successors (i.e., Martin or recruiting someone from outside) so that it can have sufficient qualified employees to continuously achieve its objectives (i.e., expanding its business in China). 2 (a) The job specification of the new marketing manager is as follows: Job title: Marketing Manager Knowledge: A Bachelors Degree in Marketing or equivalent, MBA preferred Knowledge of the Mainland banking market Skills: At least three years experience as a marketing manager or other positions in the banking
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field Extensive experience in marketing financial products in the Mainland Excellent written and oral communication in Cantonese, English and Putonghua Experience in liaising with Chinese officials responsible for overseeing banking operations in the Mainland Effort Factors: Physical requirements: Physically fit to perform day-to-day office work and can handle frequent travel Other requirements: Highly analytical and creative Able to lead and manage employees with diverse backgrounds Possess strong negotiation skills in order to communicate with authorities and business partners (Any other reasonable answers) (b) The bank can publicise this job opening through commercial employment agencies. As commercial employment agencies are experienced in acquiring managerial personnel, this will save the bank a lot of time in screening suitable applicants for the job position. (Any other reasonable answers)

Teachers Guide
Other job posting methods such as employee referrals, advertising in the mass media (e.g. Classified Post) or on the Internet and advertising through professional institutions (e.g., the Hong Kong Institute of Marketing) can also be appropriate as long as students can give a reason for their choice. (c) After a preliminary screening, the bank may shortlist applicants for subsequent interviews and assessment sessions. A personality test and an unstructured interview might be used as tools for assessing the suitability of candidates for the position. Reference checks can also be used to verify if the information supplied by the applicant is accurate or not. (Any other reasonable answers) 3 I would recruit a Marketing Manager from outside the bank to take over the manager position on temporary hire terms (e.g., one-year or two-year contract). At the same time, I would provide Martin with one to two years of extensive training regarding the Mainland banking market. This could help Martins career development in the foreseeable future. If Martin performs well, I would promote him to marketing manager.

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On the other hand, if Jimmys health is good, I may consider extending his service for a year or more. With this arrangement, the bank can have more time to train Martin to take over the manager position in future.

ASSESSMENT

Short Questions
1.1 Human resources planning is the process of deciding what positions a company needs to fill and how they are to be filled. It is aimed at forecasting the number (quantity) and type (quality) of employees a company needs in order to achieve its objectives. For example, assume PARKnSHOP wants to open outlets in a new town in order to maintain its position as a market leader. It should first decide what positions (shop managers, warehouse keepers and cashiers, etc.) it needs to fill and how they are to be filled in its human resources planning. Then, PARKnSHOP can forecast the number (quantity) and type (quality) of employees it needs to achieve its company objective (i.e., business expansion). (Any other reasonable answers) 1.2 Human resources planning can help a hotel determine and predict its future manpower needs. This helps the hotel ensure that it has sufficient qualified employees to achieve its objectives. For example, if the hotel wants to upgrade itself to a five-star hotel (i.e., company objective), it should forecast the number and type of employees (e.g., managerial, front-line, catering-related staff) required through human resources planning. Human resources planning can also provide a necessary basis for the hotel to perform other important HRM functions, such as recruitment and selection. (Any other reasonable answers) 1.3 (a) (b) Employer and employee Elements in an employment contract may include: Working days Working hours Employment position Pay rate (salary) Leave conditions (e.g., annual leave, sick leave) (Any two of the above) (Any other reasonable answers) 1.4 PCCW may consider:
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using natural attrition to reduce the number of employees, i.e., a natural and gradual

reduction in the number of employees through retirement, resignation or death. laying off or terminating its employment relationships with its employees. not renewing the contracts of contractual staff upon the expiry of their contracts. launching early retirement or voluntary resignation schemes to induce current employees to opt for resignation or early retirement. (Any two of the above) (Any other reasonable answers) 1.5 Job analysis is a procedure used to determine the duties and skill requirements of a job and the characteristics of the person who should be hired for it. Job analysis is important in human resources management as it is an important input for HR managers in performing other HRM activities (e.g., recruitment and selection, compensation, performance appraisal, and training and career development). 1.6 Conducting an interview with an applicant may be subject to various interviewer biases including:

The interviewer may have a tendency to recruit people similar to him. The interviewer may have a tendency to jump to a conclusion based on first impressions only. Some interviewers may over-focus on a particular strength or weakness of an applicant, thereby failing to assess the applicants suitability and capability in a more holistic and objective manner. A toy manufacturing company may use interview as the major selection method for the position of a production manager. An interview is a means of collecting information from people by asking them questions. Conducting interviews allows interviewers to evaluate job applicants through face-to-face observation. The interviewers can thus project the applicants job performance based on their responses to the questions being asked.

1.7

Essay Questions
1.8 In doing so, the HR manager can have a clear picture and updated records (including skills, experience and qualifications, etc.) of all of the restaurants employees. He can then compare its current manpower status with its forecasted manpower needs and determine the number and types of employees required to run the restaurant. He can also determine whether internal manpower resources are over-utilised, under-utilised or fully utilised. Without such an assessment, the HR manager may not be able to accurately forecast the
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manpower needs for its operations. This would result in low productivity and a waste of resources. 1.9 Staffing concerns the acquisition of a sufficient number of qualified employees to fill a companys planned openings or vacancies. Staffing involves three stages: recruitment, selection and employment. For a bank, the three stages involved in the staffing process are outlined as follows: Recruitment: Recruitment involves identifying and attracting potential candidates to apply for openings. With a job description and a job specification, the bank can identify the type of people it requires. It may then attract potential candidates to apply for the position through various job posting methods (e.g., employment agencies, newspaper advertisements, Internet advertisements and job fairs, etc.). Selection: Selection refers to the banks assessment and evaluation procedures in determining which job applicant is most suitable to be hired. In this stage, the bank compares the relevant characteristics of each job applicant against the job requirements. It can begin with screening written applications and then selecting potential candidates for further assessment. The assessment may be in the form of a test, interview, reference check, etc. After evaluating all of the job applicants, the bank will choose the candidate who best fits the job. Employment: Employment refers to the final decision the bank makes regarding to whom the job will be offered and the terms of the offer. In this stage, the bank needs to make an offer to the selected candidate, convey to him the details of the offer and sign an employment contract with him. It should also inform failed candidates of the result in a polite and sincere manner so as to preserve its corporate image.

1.10 HSBC may consider the following methods: Internet advertising: As most applicants for these jobs are relatively young, the Internet represents a popular media for acquiring job information. The wide use of the Internet among these younger jobseekers also means that it is a cost-effective job posting method. Job fair: This is a quick way of attracting a large number of jobseekers. At the job fair, HSBC will be able to draw a large number of potential candidates to attend preliminary screenings and on-site interviews. This helps speed up recruitment in a cost-effective manner.

Teachers Guide
Other job posting methods such as employee referrals and advertising in the mass media can also be appropriate as long as students can give a reason for their choice. Students may propose advertising job vacancies in newspapers, which also represents a
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popular and cost-effective method for posting front-line service jobs. 1.11 (a) Questionnaire: The HR manager may use questionnaires to conduct a survey and collect information about the tellers and his job. By using questionnaires, he can collect information from a large number of employees to determine their expected level of pay.

Teachers Guide
Teachers may explain to students why interviews are not appropriate in this case. This is because interviewees may provide untrue information or exaggerate their responsibilities as they may think that their responses will affect their salaries. (b) Interview: The HR manager can directly interview a sample of existing product designers to better understand their duties and responsibilities. This method is quick and inexpensive. Questionnaire: The HR manager may use questionnaires to find out the workers expectations on compensation level. Assuming that the toy factory employs a large number of packaging workers, the use of questionnaires can speed up the data collection process from a large number of employees. Or Observation: The HR manager may engage in direct observation as the job of packaging workers may mainly consist of physical activities. He can then directly understand their duties and responsibilities. 1.12 Advantages of hiring temporary staff to fill job vacancies are as follows: It gives the company the flexibility to employ workers when needed. The company can save on the costs of fringe benefits, e.g., medical insurance, retirement benefits, etc. Disadvantages of hiring temporary staff to fill job vacancies are as follows: Temporary staff may require higher pay rates than permanent staff. The company will have a higher staff turnover rate. This might increase training costs for the company. Temporary staff may not feel a sense of belonging to the company. They will be less committed to their job. This might affect their job performance and the companys productivity as a whole. (Any two of the above)

(c)

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1.13 Advantages and disadvantages of using internal candidates to fill the vacancy of a school principal are as follows: Advantages: Raise the morale of existing employees: This delivers a strong message to the existing teaching staff that they will be rewarded (i.e., promoted to the position of school principal) if they perform well. They can thus foresee opportunities for career advancement. This helps motivate them to improve their performance. Minimise recruitment costs: The school may simply send an email to all staff and post the job advertisement on its intranet without incurring any advertising costs from job postings. Ensure a smooth transition of the principal: As an internal staff member is familiar with the operations and culture of the school, he should not encounter any adaptation problems. This helps smooth operations at the school amid the change in leadership. (Any two of the above) Disadvantages: Create unhealthy competition among existing teachers: At worst, this unhealthy competition may trigger interpersonal conflicts and affect the service (teaching) quality of

the school. Lack of new insights: The hiring of an existing employee as the school principal may also prevent the school from bringing in new insights, ideas and skills. This may adversely affect its future development.

Advantages and disadvantages of using external candidates to fill the vacancy of a school principal are as follows: Advantages: Bring in new insights, ideas and skills to the school: The school can gain a new vision for its further strategic development. Save on training costs: As the internal employee might not be well prepared for the post of principal, the school will need to provide training. The hiring of external candidates to be the school principal will save the resources (e.g., money, time) required for internal training. Disadvantages: Affect the morale of existing teaching staff: The hiring of an external candidate implies that the school management does not foster internal promotion. This will adversely affect staff morale, as well as teaching quality. Increase the staff turnover rate: As existing employees do not see a chance for promotion, they will leave the school.
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Create chaos during the transition: The new principal may have difficulty in adapting to

the schools operations and culture. (Any two of the above) 1.14 (a) The possible impacts on the company are: By outsourcing the programming work to the Mainland, Dr Game can lower its costs. Dr Game can concentrate on other areas of business, e.g., research and development, branding, promotion and distribution, etc. Better products can be produced and the company can also better market its products. Since Dr Game does not own the software programming team, it will have more flexibility in adjusting its production plan. (Any two of the above) (b) (i) The major concerns of the human resources manager are: Since the company has to terminate the employees who work in the programming department, the human resources manager needs to ensure that the company fulfils its legal obligations. The company has to provide severance pay to the workers. Since a lot of workers are fired, the morale of the company will be adversely affected. The human resources manager should clearly explain to the remaining staff why such layoffs are necessary. He may also need to reassure them about their job security. (Any one of the above) (ii) The major concerns of the managerial staff are: Managerial staff should consider factors other than costs when they choose the outsourcing company, e.g., work ethics. They should be aware of the business cultures and practices of the outsourcing company. If the outsourcing company leaks product information to competitors, the company will suffer a great loss. Managerial staff will have to manage change effectively. They have to monitor the outsourcing companys quality of work on an ongoing basis. (Any one of the above)

Case Analysis
1.15 (a) Tom should use interviews and questionnaires to conduct the job analysis. Interview: Tom may conduct interviews with frontline salespeople and their supervisors to gather useful information about the job nature of a salesperson. This method is quick
NSS BAFS: Human Resources Management Answers to textbook exercises 20 Pearson Education Asia Limited 2010

and inexpensive. Questionnaire: Tom may use questionnaires to conduct a survey and collect information about the job of a salesperson. He can collect information from a large number of salespeople from 40 outlets. (b) The job specification for the position of a salesperson is as follows: Job title: Salesperson Knowledge: Form 5 or above Knowledge of retail shop operations Some PC knowledge and fashion sense Skills: Over three years sales experience in apparel retailing Good command of spoken Cantonese, Putonghua and English Effort factor: Physical requirements: Physically fit to perform day-to-day frontline operations work Other requirements: Strong communication and interpersonal skills Strong customer orientation, strong initiative to work Willing to work overtime and during weekends and public holidays (c) Tom may make use of the following methods to post job vacancies: Advertising via the mass media or the Internet: Tom can post job advertisements in newspapers, job-recruiting magazines and on the Internet. These media have wide coverage and are thus cost effective. Job fair: Toms company can participate in job fairs to recruit qualified salespeople. As many jobseekers attend job fairs, this job posting method enables the company to fill vacancies in a cost effective manner. Employee referrals: Tom may consider offering incentives to existing salespeople to recommend suitable friends/relatives to apply for the jobs. Presumably, existing salespeople have some basic information about the suitability of their friends/relatives, as well as the companys requirements. Hence, the quality of the new recruits can be more assured. (Any other reasonable answers)
NSS BAFS: Human Resources Management Answers to textbook exercises 21 Pearson Education Asia Limited 2010

(d)

Tom can use the following selection methods to select suitable salespeople: Screening written applications: This is the most effective way of selecting potential candidates with the relevant background and experience. This is also a quick way to assess the candidates sincerity and interest in the position. Personality tests: The job nature itself requires an outgoing and extroverted personality. The use of personality tests can determine if job applicants possess these required qualities. Interview: Tom can collect in-depth information from the candidates and their suitability for the position. He can assess more accurately the candidates abilities (e.g., interpersonal skills, communication skills, knowledge about the apparel retailing industry) on a face-to-face basis. (Any other reasonable answers)

1.16 (a)

Staff turnover rate refers to the percentage of employees who left a company within a specified period. Staff turnover rate = 500/10,000 100% = 5% (i) Human resources planning is important for BBA Bank as this decides what positions BBA Bank has to fill and how they are to be filled. BBA Bank can forecast its demand for human resources (the number and type of employees) for business expansion. Based on this, it can then formulate its recruitment activities. Maria can make use of the staff turnover rate to more accurately forecast the number of employees the bank needs to recruit. If Maria does not take into account how many existing employees will leave when she conducts her human resources planning, she may end up underestimating the actual number of employees the bank has to recruit. (iii) Patricks suggestion may not be a wise decision as BBA bank is planning for expansion. This expansion means the bank has to expand its employee numbers. However, posting jobs on the intranet mainly attracts internal candidates who will shift from one position to another without increasing the total employee size in order to cope with the planned expansion.

(b) (c)

. (ii)

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