Lesson 4: Forecasting and Strategic Planning

Question 1

Attrition

Answer 1

natural decrease in staff through retirement, death or resignation

Question 2

Delphitechnique

Answer 2

• long range forecasting and other strategic planning issues
  1. problem is identified and each member is to submit a potential solution by completing a questionnaire
  2. after questionnaire is complete, results are complied
  3. each member is given a copy of the results
  4. if there is differences in opinion, each uses the feedback to fine tune their assessment
  5. third and fourth step repeated until consensus is reached

Question 3

Early retirement buyout programs

Answer 3

strategy used to accelerate attribution that involve offering attractive packages or opportunities to retire on all pension with an attractive benefits package

Question 4

Environment scanning

Answer 4

assessment of external factors influencing the organizations ability to find and secure talent from external labour market

• economic conditions
• market and competitive trends
• new or revised laws
• technological changes
• demographic trends

Question 5

Hiring freeze

Answer 5

openings are filled by reassigning current employees

Question 6

Describe the ways in which a surplus of human resources can be managed

Answer 6

• retirement buyout

- hiring freeze

Question 7

Job sharing

Answer 7

involves dividing the duties of a single position between two or more employees

Question 8

Layoff

Answer 8

the temporary or permanent withdrawal of employment to workers for economic or business reasons

Question 9

leave of absence

Answer 9

allows the who may be interested in making time away from work - without pay, bu with a guarantee that their job will be available upon their return

Question 10

management inventories

Answer 10

roads summarizing the background, qualifications, interests, skills of management employees and their responsibilities and training

Question 11

Markov analysis

Answer 11

method for forecasting internal labour supply
involves tracking the pattern of employee movements through various jobs and developing a transitional probability matrix
- shows the actual number of employee who remain in each job from one year to the next, the proportion promoted, demoted, transferred and leaving

Question 12

Nominal group technique

Answer 12

group of experts meeting face to face

• 1. each member independently writes down their ideas on the problem
     
     2. they each present their idea, and continue until all ideas are presented (no discussion)
     3. clarification is sought then evaluation and discussion
     4. each member is asked to rank the ideas

Question 13

Promotion

Answer 13

movement of employees from one job to another that is higher pay, responsibilities and organizational level

Question 14

Ratio analysis

Answer 14

quantitative technique for demand

- ratio between some causal factors and the number of employees required

Question 15

reduced workweek

Answer 15

work less hours and get less pay

Question 16

regression analysis

Answer 16

quantitative technique
sophisticated statistical technique to determine the line of best fit, involving multiple variables
- to investigate the effects of one variable on another (determine magnitude and direction of relationship)

Question 17

What are some examples of general economic conditions

Answer 17

interest rates
wage rates
rate of inflation
unemployment rates

Question 18

what are some examples of labour market conditions

Answer 18

education level
age
gender
marital status

Question 19

scatter plot

Answer 19

quantitative technique

used to determine whether two facts are related

Question 20

severance package

Answer 20

a lump sum payment continuation of benefits for a specified period of time, provided to employees who are being terminated

Question 21

staffing table

Answer 21

pictorial representation of all jobs within the organization along with numbers of current incumbents and future employment requirements

Question 22

what is the end result of the supply and demand forecasting?

Answer 22

short term and long range HR requirements

Question 23

how can an organization fill positions internally

Answer 23

1. effectively designing jobs and quality of. working life initiatives
2. establishing performance standards and goals
3. coaching, measuring and evaluating
4. implementing a suitable reward structure

Question 24

supplemental unemployment benefits

Answer 24

top up of EI benefits to bring income levels closer to what an employee would receive on the job

Question 25

survivor syndrome

Answer 25

range of negative emotions experienced by employees remaining after a major restructuring initiatives, which can include feelings of betrayal or violation

Question 26

termination

Answer 26

permanent separation from the organization for any reason

Question 27

trend analysis

Answer 27

quantitative technique
studio the firms employment level over the last 3-5 years to predict future needs
- identify trends that might continue
- initial estimate only

Question 28

work sharing

Answer 28

employees work three or four days a week and receive EI benefits on their non workdays

Question 29

Describe the ways in which a surplus of human resources can be managed

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Explain how organizations deal with a shortage of human resources

Answer 30

transfer employees laterally that is relatively equal pay, responsibility or org level
- promotion
focus on retention initiatives to mitigate potential labour shortages
- recruit using the right quantity and quality of ads to get the talent needed