human resource planning and job analysis

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 8e, DeCenzo and Robbins

Chapter 5Human Resource Planning and Job Analysis

Fundamentals of Human Resource ManagementEighth Edition

DeCenzo and Robbins


Introduction

• Human resource planning is a process by which an organization ensures that– it has the right number and

kinds of people– at the right place– at the right time– capable of effectively and

efficiently completing those tasks that will help the organization achieve its overall strategic objectives.


Introduction

• Linked to the organization’s overall strategy and planning to compete domestically and globally.

• Overall plans and objectives must be translated into the number and types of workers needed.

• Senior HRM staff need to lead top management in planning for HRM issues.


An Organizational Framework

• A mission statement defines what business the organization is in, including why it exists and who its customers are.

• Strategic goals – Set by senior management to establish

targets for the organization to achieve. – Generally defined for the next 5-20 years.


Linking Employer’s Strategy to Plans

Figure 5–2



• Corporate assessment – Gap or SWOT (Strengths-Weaknesses-

Opportunities-Threats) analysis determines what is needed to meet objectives.

– Strengths and weaknesses and core competencies are identified.

– HRM determines what knowledge, skills and abilities are needed by the organization’s human resources.


Linking Organizational Strategy to Human Resource Planning

• Ensures that people are available to meet the requirements set during strategic planning.

• Assessing current human resources – A human resources inventory report

summarizes information on current workers and their skills.



– Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) are increasingly popular computerized databases that contain important information about employees.


Using Computers to Forecast Personnel Requirements

• Computerized forecasts– The use software packages to determine of future staff needs by

projecting sales, volume of production, and personnel required to maintain a volume of output.

• Generates figures on average staff levels required to meet product demands, as well as forecasts for direct labor, indirect staff, and exempt staff.

• Typical metrics: direct labor hours required to produce one unit of product (a measure of productivity), and three sales projections—minimum, maximum, and probable.


Forecasting the Supply of Inside Candidates

• Qualifications inventories– Manual or computerized records listing

employees’ education, career and development interests, languages, special skills, and so on, to be used in selecting inside candidates for promotion.


Forecasting Personnel Needs

• Trend analysis– The study of a firm’s past employment needs

over a period of years to predict future needs.

• Ratio analysis– A forecasting technique for determining future

staff needs by using ratios between a causal factor and the number of employees needed.

– Assumes that the relationship between the causal factor and staffing needs is constant


The Scatter Plot

• Scatter plot – A graphical method used to help identify the

relationship between two variables.Size of Hospital Number of

(Number of Beds) Registered Nurses

200 240

300 260

400 470

500 500

600 620

700 660

800 820

900 860


Determining the Relationship Between

Hospital Size and Number of Nurses

Figure 5–3


Drawbacks to Scatter Plots

1. They focus on projections and historical relationships, and assume that the firm’s existing structure and activities will continue into the future.

2. They generally do not consider the impact the company’s strategic initiatives may have on future staffing levels.

3. They tend to support compensation plans that reward managers for managing ever-larger staffs, and will not uncover managers who expand their staffs irrespective of strategic needs.

4. They tend to “bake in” the nonproductive idea that increases in staffs are inevitable.

5. They tend to validate and institutionalize existing planning processes and ways of doing things, even in the face of rapid change.



• Assessing current human resources – Succession planning

• includes the development of replacement charts

• portray middle-to-upper level management positions that may become vacant in the near future

• lists information about individuals who might qualify to fill the positions


Manual Systems and Replacement Charts

• Personnel replacement charts– Company records showing present performance

and promotability of inside candidates for the most important positions.

• Position replacement card– A card prepared for each position in a company

to show possible replacement candidates and their qualifications.


Management Replacement Chart

Showing Development Needs of Future Divisional Vice

PresidentFigure 5–4


The Matter of Privacy of HR Information

• The need to ensure the security of HR information– There is a lot of HR information to keep secure.

– Control of HR information can be established through the use of access matrices that limit users.

– Legal considerations: The Federal Privacy Act of 1974 gives employees rights regarding who has access to information about their work history and job performance.


Forecasting the Supply of Outside Candidates

• Factors impacting the supply of outside candidates– General economic conditions– Expected unemployment rate

• Sources of information– Periodic forecasts in business publications



• Determining the Demand for Labor – A human resource inventory can be

developed to project year-by-year estimates of future HRM needs for every significant job level and type.

– Forecasts must be made of the need for specific knowledges, skills and abilities.

?



• Predicting the Future Labor Supply – A unit’s supply of human resources comes

from:• new hires• contingent workers• transfers-in• individuals returning from leaves

– Predicting these can range from simple to complex.

– Transfers are more difficult to predict since they depend on actions in other units.



• Predicting the Future Labor Supply – Decreases in internal supply come about

through:• Retirements• Dismissals• Transfers-out• Lay-offs• Voluntary quits• Sabbaticals• Prolonged illnesses• Deaths



– Retirements are the easiest to forecast.– Other factors are much more difficult to

project. – Dismissals, transfers, lay-offs, and

sabbaticals are more easily controlled by management.



• Where Will We Find Workers – migration into a community– recent graduates– individuals returning from military service– increases in the number of unemployed

and employed individuals seeking other opportunities, either part-time or full-time

• The potential labor supply can be expanded by formal or on-the-job training.



• Matching Labor Demand and Supply – Employment planning compares forecasts

for demand and supply of workers.

– Special attention should be paid to current and future shortages and overstaffing.

– Decruitment or downsizing may be used to reduce supply and balance demand.

– Rightsizing involves linking staffing levels to organizational goals.



Employment Planning and

The Strategic Planning Process


Job Analysis in a “Jobless” World

• Job– Generally defined as “a set of closely related

activities carried out for pay.”


Job Analysis

• Job Analysis is a systematic exploration of the activities within a job.

• It defines and documents the duties, responsibilities and accountabilities of a job and the conditions under which a job is performed. ?


Job Analysis

• Job Analysis Methods – Observation method – job analyst

watches employees directly or reviews film of workers on the job.

– Individual interview method – a team of job incumbents is selected and extensively interviewed.

– Group interview method – a number of job incumbents are interviewed simultaneously.


Job Analysis

• Job Analysis Methods – Structured questionnaire method –

workers complete a specifically designed questionnaire.

– Technical conference method – uses supervisors with an extensive knowledge of the job.

– Diary method – job incumbents record their daily activities.

• The best results are usually achieved with some combination of methods.


Job Analysis


Job Analysis

• Structured Job Analysis Techniques – Department of Labor’s Job Analysis

Process: • Information from observations and interviews is

used to classify jobs by their involvement with data, people and things.

• Information on thousands of titles available on O*Net OnLine which is the Department of Labor’s replacement for the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.


Job Analysis

• Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)(developed at Purdue University) – Jobs are rated on 194 elements, grouped

in six major divisions and 28 sections. – The elements represent requirements

that are applicable to all types of jobs. – This type of quantitative questionnaire

allows many different jobs to be compared with each other, however, it appears to be more applicable to higher-level professional jobs.


Job Analysis

• Job Descriptions – Written statement of what jobholder does, how it is

done, under what conditions and why. – Common format: title; duties; distinguishing

characteristics; environmental conditions; authority and responsibilities.

– Used to describe the job to applicants, to guide new employees, and to evaluate employees.

– Identification of essential job functions is needed to assure compliance with Americans with Disabilities Act.


Figure 4–7a

Source: Courtesy of HR Department, Pearson Education.


Figure 4–7b

Source: Courtesy of HR Department, Pearson

Education.


Job Analysis

• Job Specifications – States minimum acceptable qualifications. – Used to select employees who have the

essential qualifications.


Job Analysis

• Job Evaluations – Specify relative value of each job in the

organization.

– Used to design equitable compensation program.


Job Analysis

• The Multi-faceted Nature of Job Analysis – Almost all HRM activities are tied to job

analysis. – Job analysis is the starting point for sound

HRM.


Job Analysis

• Job Analysis and the Changing World of Work – Globalization, quality initiatives,

telecommuting, and teams require adjustments to the components of a job.

– Today’s jobs often require not only technical skills but interpersonal skills and communication skills as well.

human resource planning and job analysis

Recruiting & HR

human resource planningensures

future staff

current human resources

organizations human

future needs

strategic planning

senior hrm staff

exempt staff