HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Chapter

Human Resource Planning

Basic Concepts
Human Resource Planning or Manpower Planning:
A strategy for the acquisition, utilization, improvement and retention of the human
resource required by the enterprise in pursuit of its objectives

Basic Concepts
Manpower planning in the light of HRP
It is heavily related on calculation of employee numbers, with insufficient attention to
skills and competences
Manpower is based on matching people with jobs, when HRP is emphasis on
functional, temporal, and numerical flexibility in the workforce
HRP greater concern with employees skills their development and deployment

Recruiting
Retaining
Utilizing
Improving

Basic Concepts
HRP and corporate planning
Items of corporate or strategic planning that affect HRP
Predicted financial situation
Intended product markets and market share
Desired output and productivity
Changes in location
Employee numbers
Importance of HRP

Replacing financial situation

Employment protection registration
Rapid technological change
Effective utilization of staff
International competition

Basic Concepts
Contingency approach to HRP
The staff replacement approach
Short-term Human Resource Strategy
Vision-driven Human Resource Development

Basic Concepts
Process of HRP
Forecasting Demand
The objective
Manpower utilization
The cost of Labour
Environmental factors
Forecasting supply
Closing the gap between demand and supply

Basic Concepts
Shortfalls may be met by

Internal transfer, promotions, training and development

External recruitment or improvement of recruitment method
The extant ion of temporary contracts, or the contracts of those about to retire
Reducing labor turnover
The use of freelancer or temporary staff
Development of flexibility
New technology
Adjustment of corporate objective

Basic Concepts
Surplus mat be met by

Restricting or freezing recruitment

Redundancies (voluntary and/or compulsory)
Early retirement incentive
Short contract and flexible-hours
Eliminating overtime and peripheral workforce such as freelancer or temporary
staff

Basic Concepts
Labor turnover is the number of employees leaving an organization and being replaced.
Natural wastage is used to describe a normal flow of people out of an organization
through retirement, career or job change, illness and so on
Crude Labor turnover rate
Number of leavers in a period
X 100=%turnover
Average number of people employed in the period
Labor stability
Number of employees with one year or more service
Number of employees employed at beginning of the year

X 100= % stability

Basic Concepts
Causes for labor turnover

Illness or accident
Move from the locality
Change to the locality
Changes to the family situation
Retirement
Career change

Is turnover a bad thing

Basic Concepts
Retention planning
Exit interviews
Attitude surveys
Information on the variables which can be assumed to correlate with labour
turnover
Evaluating HRP
Work study method
Human resource audit
Cost benefit analysis

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Chapter

The systematic approach to recruitment

Basic Concepts
Recruitment is the part of the human resorting process concerned with finding the
applicants: it is a positive action by management, going into the labor market,
communicating opportunities and information, and encouraging applicants for
suitable candidates.

Basic Concepts
A systematic approach to recruitment will involve the following stages
a. Detailed HRP defining what resources the organization needs to meet its objective

b. Job analysis is a definition of the skills, knowledge and attributes required to perform the job
Job description: a statement of the component tasks, duties, objectives and standards
Person specification: The kind of person needed to perform the job
c. Job requisition and authorization
d. Evaluation of the source of staff: internal and external sources and media
e. Preparation and publication of information
Attract the attention and interest of potential suitable candidates
Give a favorable (but accurate) impression of the job and the organization
Equip those interested to make an attractive and relevant application (How and to whom to
apply, desired skills, qualifications and so on

f. Processing applications prior to the selection process

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Chapter

Selection

Basic Concepts

Selection
It is a process to identify candidates who are suitable for the vacancy

Basic Concepts
A systematic approach of selection

Send letter of acknowledgement as a courtesy, to each applicant

Set each application against key criteria in the job advertisement and specification
Sort applicants into possible, unsuitable and marginal
Closely scrutinized, and shortlist for interview
Invite candidates for interviews
Interview potentially qualified candidates
Reinforce interviews with selection testing if suitable
Institute follow-up procedures for successful candidates
Make an offer of employment
Draw up a contract or written particulars of employment
Arrange work permits and related issues of residency, if required by crossborder recruitment
Plan initial induction into the organization

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Chapter

13

Learning and the learning organisation

Basic Concepts

Three theoretical approaches of learning

The behaviorist or Stimulus- response approach:
The human mind operates purely on information gained from the senses by
experience and concentrates on observable behavior.
The cognitive or information- processing approach:
The human mind imposes organisation and meaning on sensory raw material
and assumes that it is possible to make influence those through processes
The social learning approach:
Shift over time from our parents and caregivers in childhood, to peers in
adolescence, to selected experts and mentors in adulthood

Basic Concepts
Stages of learning
Stage 1

Unconscious incompetence (Learner is not aware of what he doesnt know)

Stage 2

Conscious incompetence (Learner become aware that he doesnt know)

Stage 3

Conscious competence (Learner works at knowing)

Stage 4

Unconscious competence (Learner doesnt have to think about knowing)

Basic Concepts
Learning curve:

Level of
competence
Standard curve
Proficiency

Learning time

Basic Concepts

The learning cycle by David Kolb

Having an experience

Planning the next steps

Reviewing the experience
Concluding from the experience

Basic Concepts
Transfer of learning
Refers to the extent to which newly learned information or skills have been transferred
from the learning context to the application of a specific task
Two basic approaches to the transfer of learning
1. Transfer by specific correspondence of elements
2. Transfer by principle

Basic Concepts
Learning styles (by Honey and Mumford)

Style
Characteristic

Activist (I will try anything once)

1. Activities involve themselves fully in new experiences
2. Enthusiastic about new things
3. Act first and think about constituencies later
4. They prefer to tackle problems by brainstorming

Style
Characteristic

Reflector ( Look before you leap)

1. Like to stand back to observe and ponder new experiences
2. Preferring to consider all angels and implications and analyse all
available data before making any move

Basic Concepts
Learning styles (by Honey and Mumford)

Style
Characteristic

Theorist (If its logical its good)

1. Keen on basic assumptions, principles, theories, models
2. They think problems through systematically and logically
3. Interested in maximizing certainty and uncomfortable with
ambiguity and lateral thinking

Style
Characteristic

Pragmatist ( If it works, its good)

1. Eager to try out ideas, theories and techniques to see if they work
in practice
2. Enjoy practical decisions and responding to problems and
opportunities as a challenge

Basic Concepts
Benefits of training and development activity
1. Increase efficiency, Productivity and flexibility
2. Reduction in costs, less wastage and fewer error
3. Improve quality of work / service
4. Fewer accidents
5. Attract and retain high caliber employees
6. Improved job satisfaction
7. Compliance with legislation and regulation
8. Better promotion and succession planning

Basic Concepts
Stakeholders in human resource development
1. The owners and senior managers of the organization
2. The line managers of the trainees
3. The trainees
4. The training manager
5. The instructors
6. Training Vendor

HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

Chapter

14

Training and development

Basic Concepts
Training: Training is the use of planned, systematic instruction and other learning events and
programmes to promote learning, with the particular aim of enhancing competence in a work
role.
A systematic approach to training
Stage 1
Stage 2
Stage 3
Stage 4

Identify and define training needs

Design learning and development programmes and selecting
relevant methods and media
Implement learning events and programmes
Systematically evaluate training

Basic Concepts
Training needs analysis

Training need =Required level of performance Present level of performance

Basic Concepts
Setting training objective

Knowledge: What the trainee should understand

Behavior: What the trainee should be able to do

Standard: to what level of performance

Environment: Under what conditions

Basic Concepts
Types of learning
There are a variety of training methods. These include:
1. Off-the-job training and education
2. On-the-job training

Basic Concepts
Off-the-job Training and education
Off the job training is formal training conducted outside the context of the job itself in special
training rooms or off-site facilities.

Courses
Day release
Distance learning, evening classes
Revision courses
Block release
Sandwich courses
A sponsored full-time course
Computer-based training
E-learning

Basic Concepts
On-the-job training
On the job training utilizes real work tasks as learning experience. Methods of onthe-training include following.

Demonstration or illustration
Job rotation
Temporary promotion
Work shadowing
Action learning
Committees

Basic Concepts
Timing and duration of training
1. Negotiation with line manager as to the length of time staff can be available for training
2. Consideration of the availability of training facilities person
3. Consideration of the learning curve and learning style preference trainees

Basic Concepts
What should be evaluated?

Participant reaction
Learning out comes
Behavior change
Performance change
Cost of training
Efficiency