Department of Management

College of Business & Public Administration

AME University

Mang 421
Semester II AY 2022/2023

Instructor George H. Saah

Course Mang. 421 Manpower Planning & Development Sec. 1
Contact Hours TTH 11– 12:25 PM
Contact Location: Hatcher-Henning Norris Resources Center, Online
Mobile # 0775260975
Email: gsaah@ame.edu.lr

Catalogue Description

This course focuses on the planning and development of the manpower of an organization. It involves
assessing manpower needs at national and corporate levels, causes and methods of recruitment,
building training progress, and measuring the effectiveness of training programs. It discusses the
application of modern theories of motivation to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of employees.
Emphasis is placed on the development of managerial employees.

Credit Hours: 3 hrs./wk.

Prerequisite: Mang. 303

Course Rationale

Manpower planning and development focuses on issues related to managerial employees and how by
selecting the appropriate personnel, allows an organization to thrive in its operations. It encourages
managers and employees to think critically on issues intended to enhance organizational productivity.

Required Text:

1. Noe, Raymond A. (2010): Employee Training & Development, Irwin, McGraw Hill, USA
2. Harris, D.M. & Desimone, R.L. (2001): Human Resource Development: The Dryden Press,
Orlando
3. Pace, R.W., Smith, P.C. & Mills, G.E. (1991): Human Resource Development: The Field, Prentice
Hall, New Jersey, USA
Course Objectives

At the end of this course, it is hoped that students will appreciate minimum working knowledge in
manpower planning and development as it relates to:

 Manpower planning of an organization

 Modern theories and application of manpower planning and development
 The planning process in relation to manpower
 Development of manpower as a retention strategy
 Measurement of the effectiveness and application of training programs and development

Methods of Instruction:

Classroom lectures will be supplemented by the use of case studies, assignments and seminars as well as
community outreach

Responsibilities of Students

Students will be responsible to attend all class sections, participate in individual and group work,
complete all assignments and on time, participate in all evaluations such as quizzes, mid term and final
exams.

Grading scheme in syllabus

Task Course Grade

Assignments 10%
Quizzes 10%
Mid Term 30%
Final Exam 50%
Total 100%

Evaluation
90 – 100 = A
80 - 89 = B
70 - 79 = C
60 - 69 = D
0 - 59 = F
Duration Topics Readings
Diagnostic Approach to manpower Planning and Development
Week 1 Introduction: Definition and meaning of manpower planning, the Chapter 1
strategic importance of manpower planning, specific factors affecting
manpower planning
Week 2-3 External Environmental factors influencing manpower planning: Chapter 2
government requirements, regulations and laws; the union, economic
conditions/domestic and international, competiveness, composition of
the labor force and location of the organization
Week 4 Internal Environmental Factors Influencing Manpower Planning: Chapter 3
strategy, goals, organizational culture, nature of the task, work group,
leader’s style and experience
Week 5-6 Needs Assessment of an organization’s manpower: performance Chapter 4
analysis-behavioral discrepancy, cost-value analysis, can’t do or wouldn’t
do situation, standard setting, obstacles removing, practice, etc.
Week 7-9 Causes and Methods of Recruitment: Reasons for recruitment, methods Chapter 5
of recruitment-internal recruitment; job posting, inside moonlighting and
employees’ friends; external recruitment-media advertisements, the
internet, employment agencies and executive search firms, special events
recruiting, summer internships, college recruiting
Week 10- Managing the training program: choosing the trainers and trainees, Chapter 6
11 evaluation of training and development of manpower-internal criteria,
external criteria and participants’ reactions.

Week 12- Employees motivation and organizational effectiveness: definition and Chapter 7
15 meaning of motivation, significance of motivation to managerial and non-
managerial employees, theories of motivation – the need theory of
maslow, Herzberg’s two-factors theory, expectancy model, the classical
theory of motivation and effects of motivation.

Week 16 Final Exam

 MANG 421 MANPOWER PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

THE NATURE OF MANPOWER PLANNING SYSTEM

Handout #1

1.0 Introduction

The centrality of manpower in production process of corporate entities has long been acknowledged by
organization manager and administrators. What seem to be a new compelling issue on business and
public managers is to the necessity to effectively plan for corporate man power needs in order to cope
with the fast changing technology, product and skills needs of modern organization.

This course laid further emphasis in the planning process and development of human resources
introduced in Mang 303. Students with the vision of becoming human resource managers and
technicians or effective managers will broaden their skills and adequately prepared themselves for the
tasks ahead.

1.1 Definitions and meaning of manpower planning

Manpower planning has been variedly defined in the follow ways:

i. An integrated approach to performing the planning aspects of the personnel function in

order to have a sufficient supply of adequately developed and motivated people to perform
the duties and tasks required to meet organizational objectives and satisfy the individual
needs and goals to organizational members (Magginson 1977);

ii. A process of analyzing an organization human resources needs under changing conditions
and developing the activities necessary to satisfy these needs (Walker, 1980);

iii. A process for determining and assuring that the organization will have an adequate number
of qualified persons, available at the proper times, performing jobs which meet the needs
of the enterprises and which provide satisfaction for the individuals involved (Beach 1975);

iv. The process of forecasting future human resource needs for an organization so that steps
can be taken to ensure that these needs are met. (Teresa 1999).

It is clear from these few definitions that although the different definers chose to group their
perceptions of the phenomenon in their individual ways, there is a recurring common theme. Each of
them agreed that manpower planning is an on-going process (integrated approach), not a once and for
all phenomenon. Its process involves interrelated activities and the plan must continue to be modified to
meet prevailing circumstances. As a plan, it is embedded with implementation programmes designed to
ensure availability of adequate qualified persons. Such implementation programmes include
recruitment and selection (employment) of required skilled personnel to perform jobs that will allow the
enterprise meet both the corporate and individual goals. The plan implementation programme also
entails training and development of personnel and performance as well as other related administrative
functions.

The term ‘manpower planning’ at organizational or corporate level is also known as micro-human
resources planning and it has much to do with personnel management or personnel administration. The
terms ‘manpower, ‘human resource’ and personnel management or personnel administration refer to
the same activities concerned with managing people at work. As such the terms can be used
interchangeably. On this basis, Manpower Planning and Human Resources Planning (HRP) are the same
phenomenon.

Objectives of Manpower Planning

Manpower Planning has two broad objectives which are:

a) to provide for the present and future personnel needs of organization both quantitatively and
qualitatively
b) to ensure the optimum use of the personnel currently employed.

Rao and Rao (1996) further give a mere elaborate objectives of Manpower planning as follows: to recruit
and retain human resources of required quantity and quality; to for see employee turnover and make
the arrangements for minimizing such turnover and filling up of attendant vacancies; to meet the needs
of the programme of expansion, diversification, etc. to for see the impact of technology on work,
existing employees and future human resources requirements; to improve the standards, skills,
knowledge, ability, discipline etc; to assess the surplus or shortage of human resources and take
measures accordingly; to maintain congenial industrial relations by maintaining optimum level and
structure as human resources; to minimize imbalance due to non-availability of human resources of the
right time and right place; to make the best use of human resources and finally to estimate the cost of
human resources

You will notice that the first two broad objectives above summarized all the objectives Rao Rao tried to
itemize in ten subject matters. These ten basic objectives constitute the central concern of the study and
practice of personnel management in private and public sector organizations.

Rationale for Manpower Planning

In the traditional management approach to manpower administration, management assumed that it

could always obtain the personnel it required whenever it needed them and therefore had no need to
engage in formal manpower planning. Of course, this approach to personnel management succeeded
because most of the enterprises were small in size, changed little for along time and the skills they
employed were simple. In modern complex organizations which experiences fast changes in technology,
products, markets and internal structural re-organization and utilizes a lot of high talent personnel, a
formal personnel planning is essential for viability and survival of the organization in a dynamic and
competitive business environment.

Some reasons for systematic manpower planning in organizations include:

i) to determine and ensure future personnel needs

ii) to cope with changes in competitive forces, market, technology, product and government
regulations on personnel administration.
iii) To ensure that the organization continue to maintain adequate stock of scarce, skilled an
experienced manpower through deliberate personnel procurement and development
policies, motivation, integration, utilization and succession plans;
iv) Manpower planning is necessary in organizations as an integrate part of corporate strategic
planning process. Organization strategic plan defines the corporate missions, goals,
strategies, evaluate the business challenges, organization strength an d weaknesses;
v) Manpower plan provide a necessary basis for designing and implementing personnel
functions such as recruitment.
vi) To meet the requirement of government regulation on employment. Such government
policy as equal opportunity for women and minority group could necessitate that corporate
manpower planning make provisions to accommodate this regulation. The quota system
policy on employment in public sector organization of Nigeria is a good example of such
governmental regulations that can necessity that corporate entities draw their employment
plan to conform with government regulation if the policy is extended to cover business or
private organizations.

Handout #2

The Manpower Planning Process

Although organizations differ in the degree of sophistication they exhibit in their manpower planning
process, scholars in the field are agreed that corporate manpower planning is made of five major series
of interrelated activities. (Beach, 1980). The five stage manpower planning process are:

i) Identification of the goal and plan of the organization

ii) Determine current manpower situation
iii) Forecast manpower demand and supply
iv) Design programmes to implement the plan
v) Evaluate plan effectiveness through audit and adjustments

1. Linking manpower plan to corporate goals

Manpower plan is part of the overall corporate strategic plan and should base its forecast of personnel
demand and supply on the strategic plan of the organization. If the corporate strategic plan for the next
five years is designed toward diversification of business activities involving corporate expansions, new
product, new plants, new market and so on, the manpower plan should show adequate preparation for
provision of requisite workforce to implement the corporate strategic plan.

2. Account for current manpower situation

The second activity of manpower planning process is the preparation of skills which usually contain up-
to-date information about the qualification of selected category of personnel that currently serve in the
organization. The skills inventory serves the following purpose:

i) It provides the baseline to compare the current manpower status of the organization
(manpower supply) with the required skills specified in the manpower demand forecast.
This comparison will reveal the degree of gap or significant difference between manpower
need of the organization and the supply side (i.e the available workforce). It will also provide
information about what skills in the organization need to be developed through training or
obtain from external manpower sources;
ii) It identifies the available talent within to fill specific job opportunities or vacancies;
iii) It is useful for the preparation of roster of qualified technical and material personnel;
iv) Existence of skills inventory enhances the opportunities for employees to satisfy their career
aspiration through development and promotion (Beach, 1075)

3. Manpower Forecasting

Manpower forecast involve estimating skills need of the organization in the future time (the plan
period) as well as provide statistic about manpower supply which consist of the available personnel
in the organization pay roll and the number to be recruited externally.

4. The Plan Implementation

Forecasting manpower demand and supply and comparing the demand with the supply to
determine the differences is the last major activity of manpower planning. The next stage is the
implementation of the plan through personnel administration programmes such as recruitment,
selection, placement, performance appraisal, promotions; lay off, training and development and
compensation.

However, before management decides to resort to such elaborate implementation strategies

mentioned above, some preliminary interim measures are there to solve the problems of disparity
between personnel demand and supply. When demand surpasses supply, management would plan
for anticipated shortages through better utilization of the available manpower; hiring additional
hands from outside, transferring employees to jobs in which there is shortages of workforce;
training employees to occupy or fill job positions that will enable them move up to higher skilled
position; compelling employees to work overtime and ensure that employee increase their
productivity. In case these policy instruments are not sufficient to solve the problem of shortages,
additional hands from outside the organization may be employed either on part-time, temporary,
full-tell or permanent full-time basis.
 On the other hands, if management anticipates surplus manpower supply in an organization, the
situation can be avoided or remedied through:

i) Training employees to move out of job where surplus manpower exist into other jobs where
shortage exist;
ii) Reducing work hours and work sharing
iii) Curtailing employment, promotions and transfer into jobs for which surplus is anticipated;
iv) Reducing pays and freezing pay increases (Teriza, 1999).

5. Audit and Adjustments

The last stage of manpower planning process is the evaluation of the plan to assess and ascertain if the
plan goals are met, if not, determine the reasons for failure. Evaluation may entail modification of the
goals and strategies so as to achieve success. This is necessary because the effectiveness of manpower
planning depend on how well human resources are anticipated and met.

Manpower Forecasting Techniques

Forecasting techniques are devices designed to predict and estimate organization’s future manpower
requirements. Some of the commonly used techniques are:

1. Expert estimation;
2. Planning for status quo;
3. Unit demand forecasting model;
4. Rule of thumb; and
5. Management succession, etc.

1. Expert estimation technique

This is a forecasting method whereby experienced managers or experts who are conversant with
production process of the organization estimate manpower required to undertake operations of the
desired new business expansion. Based on experience, they can give adequate estimation of man per
unit production per hour. The usual period for this type of forecast ranges between 1 – 2 years (i.e.
short-range forecast). The three variant of this forecast techniques are:

i) Planning for the status quo

ii) The rule of thumb; and
iii) The Delphi Method

i. planning for the status quo

This is the simplest forecasting technique where the planning manager believe or is sure that the current
manpower supply and mix are adequate and therefore concern himself with efforts to replace only
those that are promoted or those who left the organization. It is a simple replacement strategy and is
suitable for small organization.

ii) Rule of Thumb technique

In this device, managers of the various sections of the organization make estimate of the present
manpower needs by using their experience to convert information on short time future activities su9ch
as unit to be produced, customers to be served and projects to complete.

Based on the activity component of these operations and the managers past knowledge of the number
of people previously used to undertake similar functions, the make present situation manpower
requirement projections.

iii) The Delphi Method

This is a technique whereby a panel of experts (assuming the role of the legendary oracle of Greek
mythology) forecast a future situation through repetitive independent individual decision making
process. This method requires a panel of experts to work on their individual judgmental basis to forecast
future manpower need after which a moderator gather the forecast, summarize them and return the
general forecast to the individual forecaster as a basis to continue forecasting until a consensus is
reached. It is systematic way of obtaining and refining judgment of a group of experts (Folayan, 1997)

Unit Demand forecasting models

Here, supervisors and managers of various units estimate human resource need of their respective unit
for the planning period. The managers’ units forecast are added up to obtain a total forecast of the
organization’s manpower need. A variant of unit demand forecasting technique is the management
succession planned the manning table.

Management succession Plan

This is a device for estimating manpower flow (how employee move in, grow and quit) of the
organization. It is known as replacement planning or management progression of forecast, which is
usually designed in a chart form called replacement chart. Such charts provide information on the age,
education, experiences, current status and advancement potentials of each manager in the enterprise.
This chart shows the current position occupant in the chart and their likely successors. Succession plans
enables vacancies to be filled without delay and people can be trained to take over such vacancies.

The problem with this system is that there are higher risks in designing some individuals as ‘crown
prices’ or ‘hair apparent’, it could demoralize others who are also qualified and are interested in the
position. More so, an ambitious potential successor could manipulate corporate political environment
and get the incumbent removed before his quit period is due. Also others interested in the position
could politicize the arrangement and create unnecessary rivalry and tension in the organization.

Manning Table
This device takes care of the problems with the succession plan. This device gives chance to all position
occupants to fill higher vacancies when opportunities are available. To achieve this aim, every position
occupant is exposed to experience acquisition training and development opportunities to enable them
grow along with career ladder.

Selecting the appropriate technique

A manager or specialist officer need to put certain factors into consideration before choosing a given
technique of manpower forecasting. Such factors include the needs to be served, technical competence
(technology) of the organization, the cost involve in implementing the technique, the time requirement
of the forecasting technique and the political climate of the organization.

Handout #3

2.0 External Environmental factors influencing manpower planning

The external environment impacts on the supply of labour available to potential

employers.

1. Demographic Factors

Demographic change influences the supply of labor. Demographic is the study of the
size, growth, age and geographical distribution of human population, e.g.
 increases in the world population
 changes in birth and death rates
 changes in birth and death rates
 increasing migration
 ageing populations
2. Socio-cultural trends are closely related to demographic changes; for example:
 Increased female participation in the work force
 The desire for a better work-life balance
 More part-time and fixed term employment
 Less loyalty from employers and employees

3. Technological change

 Technological change has impacted on the required employment skills and the
nature of the employment. For example, new information and communication
 technologies (ICT) allow more people to telework (work form home or from a
remote location).
4. Labour Mobility
 Occupational mobility (movement between occupations) is influenced by the
level of education and training.
 Geographical mobility (movement between locations) is influenced by the
attractiveness of regions in terms of environment, climate, infrastructure,
communications and wage rates.
5. The State of the economy has a significant impact related to the economic cycle.
In a recession, wages fall and labour availability increases. In boom periods,
higher wages boost the number of people willing and able to work.
6. Employment laws and regulations impact on the structure of a workforce, e.g.
laws on maximum working hours, minimum wage, child labor, etc.  
7. UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES  - One of the external factors affecting human resource
planning is situations that arise out of the control of the organization. These can cause
massive changes to how we function. The Covid-19 pandemic, Ebola, are prime
examples. Almost overnight, businesses had to adapt to closures, social distancing
norms and disruptions in the supply chain. Natural disasters and climate change may
cause further changes in the future. While these factors affecting human resource
planning are impossible to predict, organizations need to be prepared.
8. COMPETITIVE CONDITIONS - HR managers seek to maintain low costs, one of the most
common factors affecting human resource planning. When there are many recruiters
vying for the same talent, it can drive up costs.

3.0 Internal Environmental Factors influencing manpower planning

Internal and external factors that influence human resource (HR)

planning (AO3)
Human resource (HR) planning supports the future direction of the organisation. It is
important that the firm includes the costs of recruitment, training and appraisal in its
operating budget.
The supply of labour is the number of workers willing and able to work in a given
occupation for a given wage. It varies between countries – and in regions within those
countries – and is affected by demographic change. Workforce planning is constrained
by labour availability.

Internal Factors influencing Manpower Planning

The internal environment impacts on the firm’s employment policies:
 The firm’s strategic plan will include a workforce assessment in terms of numbers
and skills
 As firms grow, they are likely to recruit more employees, although there may be
substitution of labour through automation
 Changes to the nature of the firm’s operations will affect the types and skills
levels of its workforce, e.g. new international operations.
 Increasing or falling profitability will affect the level of the required workforce and
terms and conditions.
 New management may lead to higher staff turnover.