Essay on Human Resources Ch 3 Summary

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ch 3 human resource planning

relationship of human resource planning to strategic planning
Human Resource planning systematically forecasts an organization’s future demand for and supply of employees, and then matches supply with demand.

The human resource department will then contribute to the success of the organization’s strategic plan in several ways:
Proper staffing is critical for strategic success
-- An organization needs to be staffed with the right numbers and types of people to provide for long-term success
Different Strategies Require Varying Human Resource Plans
-- e.g., growth or expansion strategy usually requires aggressive hiring, training, and /or promotions; a reduction strategy often requires layoffs, early retirements, etc.
Human Resource Planning Facilitates Proactive Responses
-- Human resource planning (employment planning) facilitates better recruitment, selection and training strategies to meet equal employment commitments
Successful Tactical Plans Require Appropriate Human Resource Plans
-- Firm’s strategic plan is executed through many short-range, tactical (operational) plans
-- The overall organizational strategy defines the human resource objectives which are accomplished through appropriate human resource plans
-- Employment planning is more common in large organizations
Human resource planning can vary from capturing basic information to a more sophisticated approach
-- Level 1—no formal planning
-- Level 2—minimal HRP planning, focus on headcount
-- Level 3—long term forecasts, needs are projected 3-6 years doesn’t integrate people planning with long term planning
-- Levels 4 &5—HRP is a core strategic process, long range planning of 3-6 years, sophisticated HRIS systems
-- See Figure 3.2—five levels of planning activity on page 88

THE HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING PROCESS
See Figure 3.3 on page 88
As seen in Figure 3.3, human resource planning is a process with a specific order of activities helping managers to focus on the issues that are most important so they can plan effectively to ensure organizational objectives are met.
There are 5 steps:
-- Forecast demand for resources
-- Assess supply of resources
-- Develop HR objectives
-- Design and implement programs to balance demand and supply
-- Establish program evaluation the demand for human resources
1. External Challenges Economic developments—developments in the environment
Social-Political-Legal Challenges—implications may be unclear
Technological challenges—can impact supply and demand
Competitors—actions of competitors influence employment levels
2. Organizational Decisions
• Strategic Plan—commits the organization to objectives such as growth rates, markets, new products which determine the numbers and types of employees needed

Budgets—increases or cuts are the most significant influence on human resource needs in the short-run
Sales and Production Forecasts—provide rapid notice of short-run changes in human resource demand
New Ventures—result in new human resource demands
Organizational and Job Design—changes in structure, automation, computerization and job redesign impact human resource needs

3. Workforce Factors
The demand for human resources is modified by employee action such as retirements, resignations, terminations, deaths, and leaves of absence
FORECASTING HUMAN RESOURCE NEEDS
1. Expert Forecasts rely on those who are knowledgeable to estimate future human resource needs
• Informal and instant forecast
-- Manager believes workload justifies another employee
• Formal expert surveys
-- Planners survey managers who are the experts, about their department’s future employment needs
-- May use questionnaires or focused discussions e.g. nominal group techniques (the group’s ideas are discussed and ranked through a voting process)
Delphi technique
-- Solicits estimates from a group of experts, usually managers