
Manpower demand refers the total human resource needs of an organisation for a given time period. Manpower demand forecasts and assessments of supply must be continuously monitored so that adjustments can be made in the programmes designed to reconcile the supply and demand of manpower resources. These two factors, in turn, determine the length of the planning horizons, the type and quality of information available to manpower planners and the nature of jobs to be filled. The manpower planning process is affected by the organisation’s strategic management decisions and environmental uncertainties. We have already noted that manpower planning involves forecasting manpower needs, assessing manpower supply and reconciling supply and demand through various personnel-related programmes. In predicting supply, the human resource manager considers internal sources, or employees who could be promoted or shifted into the vacant positions, as well as external sources: people currently in school, working for another company, or actively seeking employment. The forecast also predicts the supply of employees to fill these needs. The human resource forecast estimates the number and types of employees the organisation will need over the next one to two years. Fig.4.2 shows the process.Įffective manpower planning starts with a forecast. Manpower planning consists of forecasting the organisation’s future needs for employees, and then planning programmes to meet unfilled needs so that the organisation will have the right number and kind of employees when they are needed. These are the problems which a personnel manager has to face and solve. Especially if the organisation has always hired locally, this forecast may have implications for training to fill gaps. As with forecasting internal supply, this includes a review of skills, abilities, education, experience, and other qualifications needed for the job.

Once managers have forecast internal supply, they are in a position to forecast external supply. For example, such an audit may uncover weakness in the information technology skills of current employees at a time when the organisation is entering a computer system intense business. A human resource audit is a listing of the strengths and weaknesses of current personnel. The job analysis may include a human resource audit. A job specification is a list of the skills, abilities, education, experience, and other qualifications needed for the job. A job description frequently includes working conditions, and the tools, materials, and equipment used to perform the job. The job analysis can be used to write job descriptions and job specifications.Ī job description is a written statement of job duties and responsibilities.

This process may include a job analysis, which is a systematic study of what is done, when, where, how, why, and by whom in current and predicted jobs.
