Chapter 5

Question 1

What is human resource planning?

Answer 1

The process of forecasting future human resources requirements to ensure that the organization will have the required number of employees with the necessary skills to meet its strategic objectives shortages/surpluses.

Question 2

What are the key steps in human resource planning?

Answer 2

Forecasting demand for labour
analyzing the labour supply
planning and implementing HR programs to balance supply and demand

Question 3

What are some of the environmental factors most frequently monitored?

Answer 3

economic conditions (general, regional, and local)
market and competitive trends
new or revised laws
social concerns related to health care, childcare, and educational priorities
technological changes
demographic trends

Question 4

What forecasting future HR needs is based on?

Answer 4

projected turnover
quality and nature of employees relative to the demand
decisions regarding product quality and new markets
plans for technological and administrative changes to increase productivity and reduce headcount
financial resources available

Question 5

What are some of the quantitative approaches to HR planning?

Answer 5

trend analysis: review past employment levels
ratio analysis: ratio of business activity (e.g. sales) and
number of employees needed
scatter plot: used to determine whether two factors (business activity and staffing levels) are related
regression analysis: examines the statistical relationship between business activity and employees

Question 6

What are some of the qualitative approaches to HR planning?

Answer 6

Nominal Group Technique
decision making technique that involves a group of experts meeting face to face
steps include independent idea generation, clarification and open discussion, and private assessment
Delphi Technique
judgmental forecasting method used to arrive at a group decision, typically involving outside experts as well as organizational employees
ideas are exchanged without face-to-face interaction and feedback is provided and used to fine-tune independent judgements until a consensus is reached

Question 7

What is the staffing table?

Answer 7

a pictorial representation of all jobs within the organization, along with the number of current incumbents and future employment requirements
(monthly or yearly) for each

Question 8

What is the markov analysis?

Answer 8

a method of forecasting internal labour supply that involves tracking the pattern of employee movements through various jobs and developing a transitional probability matrix

Question 9

What are skills inventories?

Answer 9

manual or computerized records summarizing employees’ education, experience, interests, skills, and so on, which are used to identify internal candidates eligible for transfer and/or promotion

Question 10

What are management inventories?

Answer 10

records summarizing the qualifications, interests, and skills of management employees, along with the number and types of employees supervised, duties of such employees, total budget managed, previous managerial duties and responsibilities, and managerial training received

Question 11

What are replacement charts?

Answer 11

visual representations of who will replace whom in the event of a job opening
likely internal candidates are listed, along with their age, present performance rating, and promotability status

Question 12

What are replacement summaries?

Answer 12

lists of likely replacements for each position and their relative strengths and weaknesses, as well as information about current position, performance, promotability, age, and experience

Question 13

What is succession planning?

Answer 13

process of ensuring suitable supply of successors for current and future senior or key jobs so that careers of individuals can be effectively planned and managed

Question 14

What does succession planning include?

Answer 14

analysis of current and future demand for managers and professionals in the company
planning of individual career paths based on objective estimates of future needs, performance appraisal data, and assessments of potential
career counselling and performance-related training and development to prepare individuals for future roles
planned strategic recruitment, aimed at obtaining people with the potential to meet future needs, as well as at filling current openings

Question 15

What factors influence the supply of external candidates?

Answer 15

general economic conditions
national labour market conditions
local labour market conditions
occupational market conditions

Question 16

What is the labour surplus?

Answer 16

A labour surplus exists when the internal supply of employees exceeds the organization’s demand

Question 17

How can employers respond to the labour surplus?

Answer 17

hiring freeze
Attrition: standard employee resignation, retirement,
or death
early retirement buyout programs 
job sharing
reduced work week
layoff (severance package)
leave of absence

Question 18

What is the labour shortage?

Answer 18

A labour shortage exists when the internal supply of human resources cannot meet the organization’s needs

Question 19

How can employers respond to the labour shortage?

Answer 19

Overtime
hiring temporary employees
transfers
promotion
external recruiting

Question 20

What are some of the Canadian upcoming labour supply issues?

Answer 20

over the next 20 years, the vast majority of baby boomers will transition from working life to retirement, creating a potential undersupply of labour

Question 21

What are the strategies to deal with canadian labour shortage?

Answer 21

 increase the workforce participation of older Canadians
 increase the number of Aboriginal employees
 increase the number of visible minority employees
 increase the number of female employees
 access largely untapped pool of talent from people with disabilities
 offer flexible work arrangements

Question 22

What is flexitime?

Answer 22

Working hours that permit employees the option of choosing daily starting and quitting times, provided that they work a set number of hours per day or week.
 All employees are required to be present during a designated “core periods.”
 Employees can schedule their working hours for the time of day when they are most productive.

Question 23

What is compressed work week?

Answer 23

Shortening the number of days in the workweek by lengthening the number of hours worked per day.

Question 24

What is job sharing?

Answer 24

The arrangement whereby two part-time employees perform a job that otherwise would be held by one full- time employee.
 Job sharers may work three days a week, creating an overlap day for extended face-to-face conferencing.

Question 25

What is telecommuting?

Answer 25

The use of technology such as personal computers, networks, and other communications technology such as fax machines to do work in the home that is traditionally done in the workplace.

Question 26

What are some of the advantages of telecommuting?

Answer 26

Increased flexibility for employees
 Ability to attract workers who might not otherwise be available
 Lessened burden on working parents
 Less time and money wasted physical commuting
 Increased productivity
 Reduced absenteeism
 Saves the organization space (lower rent)

Question 27

What are some of the disadvantages of telecommuting?

Answer 27

Feeling “out of the loop” and isolated. Not as connected with other employees. Communication from organization limited to computer and telephone
Lack of professionalism with clients
Resentment from those not telecommuting
Possibility of being overlooked for key assignments or promotions.
Problems when technology goes down.

Question 28

What are keys for successful telecommuting?

Answer 28

Identify jobs best suited to distance work
 Select responsible employees
 Establish employee feedback procedures and
performance review methods for evaluation
 Establish formalized telecommuting procedures
 Begin a formal training program
 Keep telecommuters informed and “in the loop”
 Recognize when telecommuting isn’t working

Question 29

What should HR do when labour supply matches demand.

Answer 29

organizations replace employees who leave the firm with individuals transferred or promoted from inside or hired from outside
As in shortage situations, performance management, training, and career development play crucial roles