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Unit 1: Introduction to Human Resource Management

1.4.4 Planning Notes

Human resource planning may be defined as the process of assessing the organization’s HR
needs in the light of organizational goals and making plans to ensure that a competent,
stable work force is employed.
The efficient utilization of organizational resources—human, capital and technological does
not just happen without the continual estimation of future requirements and the development
of systematic strategies designed towards goal accomplishment. Organizational goals have
meaning only when people with appropriate talent, skill and knowledge are available to
execute the tasks needed to realise those goals.
1.4.5 Selection and Staffing

After identifying the sources of human resources, searching for prospective employees and
stimulating them to apply for jobs in the organization, the management has to perform the
function of selecting the right employees at the right time. The selection process involves
judging candidates on a variety of dimensions, ranging from the concrete and measurable,
like years of experience, to the abstract and personal, like leadership potential. To do this,
organizations rely on many selection devices, including application forms, initial interview,
reference checks, tests, physical examinations and final interview. All selection activities,
from the initial screening to the physical examination if required, exist for the purpose of
making effective selection decisions. Each activity is a step in the process that forms predictive
exercise managerial decision makers seeking to predict which job applicant will be successful
if hired. “Successful”, in this case, means performing well on the criteria the organization
uses to evaluate personnel.
It is important to have a good organization structure, but it is even more important to fill
the job with right people. Staffing includes several sub-functions:
(i) Recruitment or getting applications for the job as they open up.
(ii) Selection of the best qualified from those who seek the jobs.
(iii) Transfers and promotions.

(iv) Training those who need further instruction to perform their work effectively or to
qualify for promotions.

Importance and Need for Proper Staffing
There are a number of advantages of proper and efficient staffing. These are as under:
(i) It helps in discovering talented and competent workers and developing them to move
up the corporate ladder.
(ii) It ensures greater production by putting the right man in the right job.
(iii) It helps to avoid a sudden disruption of an enterprise’s production run by indicating
shortages of personnel, if any, in advance.
(iv) It helps to prevent under-utilization of personnel and the resultant high labour cost
and low profit margins.
(v) It provides information to management for internal succession of managerial personnel
in the event of an unanticipated turnover.

1.4.6 Personnel Research and Information Systems
The term research means a systematic and goal-oriented investigation of facts that seeks to
establish a relationship between two or more phenomena. Research can lead to an increased
understanding of an improvement in HRM practices. Managers make decisions and solve

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