Chapter 5: Human Resource Planning

Question 1

Human Resource Planning

Answer 1

process of forecasting future human resource requirements to ensure that the organization will have the required number of employees with the necessary skills to meet its strategic objectives

Question 2

Steps in HR Planning

Answer 2

1. review business plan
2. supply and demand forecast
3. gap analysis
4. solutions analysis

Question 3

Environment Scanning

Answer 3

assessing factors that affect the external labour market as well as an organization’s ability to find and secure talent from outside the organization

Question 4

Internal Labour Supply

Answer 4

present employees who can be trained, transferred, or promoted to meet anticipated needs

Question 5

External Labour Supply

Answer 5

people in the labour market not current working for the organization, including those who are employed elsewhere and those who are unemployed but can be expected to join the organization and meet needs

Question 6

Skills Inventories

Answer 6

records that contain information about an employees education, experience, skills that are used to identify internal candidates eligible for transfer or promotion

Question 7

Management Inventories

Answer 7

records employees as well as information about managerial responsibilities and management training, used to identify internal candidates eligible for promotion or transfer opportunities

Question 8

Succession Planning

Answer 8

the plans of a company makes to fill its most important executive positions

Question 9

Markov Analysis

Answer 9

technique to track the pattern of employee movements through various jobs and develop a transitional probability matrix for forecasting internal supply by specific categories

Question 10

Forecasting Internal Labour Supply methods

Answer 10

• skills inventories
• management inventories
• succession planning
• markov analysis

Question 11

Forecasting External Labour Supply methods

Answer 11

• general economic conditions
• labour market conditions
• occupational market conditions

Question 12

Forecasting Labour Demand Quantitative Technique

Answer 12

• Trend analysis
• ratio analysis
• scatter plot analysis
• regression analysis

Question 13

Trend Analysis

Answer 13

Involves studying the firm’s employment levels over the last three to five years to predict future needs

Question 14

Ratio Analysis

Answer 14

involves making forecasts based on the ratio between some factor and number of employees required

Question 15

Scatterplot

Answer 15

graphical visualization used to determine whether two factors, a measure of business activity and staffing levels, are related

Question 16

Regression Analysis

Answer 16

the use of a mathematical formula to project future demands based on an established relationship between an organization’s employment levels and some measurable factor of output

Question 17

Forecasting Labour Demand Qualitative Approaches

Answer 17

nominal group technique
delphi technique

Question 18

Nominal Group Technique

Answer 18

decision making technique that involves a group of experts meeting face to face

Question 19

Delphi Technique

Answer 19

a long range forecasting method used to arrive at a group decision, typically involving outside experts as well as company employees. Not face to face.

Question 20

Staffing Table

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Equilibrium

Answer 21

projected labour demand matches labour supply

Question 22

Surplus

Answer 22

project labour supply exceeds projected demand

Question 23

Strategies to Reduce Surplus

Answer 23

• hiring freeze
• attrition
• early retirement buyout
• job sharing
• work sharing
• reduced work week
• layoff
• termination
• leave of absence

Question 24

Hiring Freeze

Answer 24

no openings are filled by reassigning current employees and no outsiders are hired

Question 25

Attrition

Answer 25

normal seperation of employees because of resignation, retirement, or death

Question 26

Early Retirement Buyout

Answer 26

used to accelerate attrition by offering incentives to employees to leave

Question 27

Job Sharing

Answer 27

dividing the duties of a single position between 2+ employees

Question 28

Work Sharing

Answer 28

employees work less than five days a week and receive EI for non-workdays

Question 29

Reduced work week

Answer 29

employees work fewer hours and receive less pay

Question 30

layoff

Answer 30

temporary withdrawal of employment to workers for economic or business reasons

Question 31

Termination

Answer 31

broad term that encompasses permanent separation of the worker from the organization due to problems that are deemed to be within employee’s control

Question 32

Leave of Absence

Answer 32

allows those who may be interested in time off to have a set period of time away from their position with the guarantee that their job will be available upon their return

Question 33

High Cost of Downsizing: Survivor Syndrom

Answer 33

range of negative emotions experienced by remaining employees that can include feelings of betrayal, guilt, anxiety, reduced performance

Question 34

To ease burned of Layoffs: Supplemental Unemployment Benefits (SUBs)

Answer 34

top-up EI benefits to bring income levels of temporarily laid-off workers closer to their regular on-the-job pay

Question 35

To ease burden of Layoffs: Severance Package

Answer 35

lump-sum payments, continuation of benefits, or other benefits provided to employees who are being terminated through no fault of their own

Question 36

Shortage

Answer 36

project labour demand exceeds projected labour supply

Question 37

Strategies to deal with Shortage

Answer 37

• scheduling overtime hours
• subcontracting work
• hiring temporary employees
• transfer
• promotion
• external hiring