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CHAPTER 4
STRATEGIC PLANNING, HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING, AND JOB
ANALYSIS
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
4.1 Describe the HR strategic planning process
4.2 Explain the human resource planning process
4.3 Describe the job analysis process and methods
4.4 Summarize the components of a job description
4.5 Explain what competencies and competency modeling are
4.6 Summarize job design concepts
KEY TERMS
Strategic planning: Process by which top management determines overall organizational
purposes and objectives and how they are to be achieved.
Mission: Unit’s continuing purpose or reason for being.
organization, starting with the lowest, forecasts its requirements, ultimately providing an
aggregate forecast of employees needed.
Succession planning: Process of ensuring that qualified persons are available to assume
key managerial positions once the positions are vacant.
Job analysis: Systematic process of determining the skills, duties, and knowledge
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Competencies: An individual’s capability to orchestrate and apply combinations of
knowledge, skills, and abilities consistently over time to perform work successfully in the
required work situations.
Competency modeling: Specifies and defines all the competencies necessary for success
in a group of jobs that are set within an industry context.
Job design: Process of determining the specific tasks to be performed, the methods used
in performing these tasks, and how the job relates to other work in an organization.
Process by which top management determines overall organizational purposes and
objectives and how they are to be achieved. Strategic planning is an ongoing process that
is constantly changing to find a competitive advantage.
MISSION DETERMINATION
The first step in strategic planning is determining the corporate mission. The mission is a
4) should be challenging but attainable.
● STRATEGY SETTING—Strategies should be developed to take advantage of
the company’s strengths and minimize its weaknesses in order to grasp
opportunities and avoid threats.
● EMPLOYEE ROLES ASSOCIATED WITH COMPETITIVE
STRATEGIES—HR must decide which employee roles are instrumental to the
attainment of competitive strategies.
Organizational structure: The particular form of structure needed is
determined by the needs of the firm, usually illustrated by an
organizational chart.
Information and control systems: Include reward systems; incentives;
objectives-oriented systems; budgets for allocating resources; information
firm will be able to secure employees with the necessary skills, and from what sources, is
called an availability forecast.
FORECASTING HUMAN RESOURCE REQUIREMENTS
Determining the number, skill, and location of employees the organization will need at
future dates in order to meet its goals.
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● RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VOLUME OF SALES AND NUMBER OF
WORKERS REQUIRED—One of the most useful predictors of employment
levels is sales volume. The relationship between demand and the number of
employees needed is a positive one.
FORECASTING HUMAN RESOURCE AVAILABILITY
Determination of whether the firm will be able to secure employees with the necessary
skills, and from what sources.
SHORTAGE OR SURPLUS OF WORKERS FORECASTED
There are several actions that companies can take.
● INNOVATIVE RECRUITING—New approaches to recruiting must be used.
● COMPENSATION INCENTIVES—Firms competing for workers in a high-
demand situation may have to rely on compensation incentives. Premium pay is
one obvious method.
SUCCESSION PLANNING: A COMPONENT OF STRATEGIC PLANNING
Succession planning is the process of ensuring that qualified persons are available to
assume key managerial positions once the positions are vacant. Because of the
tremendous changes that will confront management this century, succession planning is
taking on more importance than ever before. Succession planning is often a neglected
aspect for small businesses since most succession planning is thought of in terms of
replacing CEOs and key executives within larger businesses. But, succession planning is
just as, or more, important for small businesses.
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they are supposed to accomplish and good job descriptions provide them that tool.
Then, employees should be evaluated in terms of how well they accomplish the
duties specified in their job descriptions and any other specific goals that may
have been established.
● COMPENSATION—Relative value of a particular job to the company must be
exempt or nonexempt, and job analysis is basic to this determination.
● EQUAL PAY ACT—If jobs are not substantially different, similar pay
must be provided. When pay differences exist, job descriptions can be
used to show whether jobs are substantially equal in terms of skill, effort,
responsibility, or working conditions.
● CIVIL RIGHTS ACT—Job descriptions may provide the basis for
adequate defenses against unfair discrimination charges in initial selection,
promotion, and all other areas of human resource administration.
essential functions of a job and job analysis is needed to obtain this
information. Key elements to determine essential functions included are
physical skills, mental skills, job duties, and behavioral skills. The EEOC
defines reasonable accommodation as any modification or adjustment to a
job, an employment practice, or the work environment that makes it
● QUESTIONNAIRES—Job analyst administers a structured questionnaire to
employees who identify the tasks they perform in accomplishing the job.
● OBSERVATION—Job analyst usually inspects the work being performed and
records his or her observations.
● INTERVIEWS—Job analyst interviews both the employee and the supervisor.
● Performance standards to be achieved
● Working conditions and possible hazards
● Number of employees performing the job, and to whom they report
● The machine and equipment used on the job
● JOB IDENTIFICATION—Includes the job title, department, reporting
relationship, and a job number or code.
● DATE OF THE JOB ANALYSIS—Job analysis date is placed on the job
description to aid in identifying job changes that would make the description
obsolete.
● JOB SUMMARY—Provides a concise overview of the job.
STANDARD OCCUPATIONAL CLASSIFICATION (SOC)
The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) is used by federal statistical agencies to
classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or
disseminating data.
THE OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION NETWORK (O*NET)—A comprehensive
database of worker attributes and job characteristics.
● JOB ENLARGEMENT—Increasing the number of tasks a worker performs,
with all of the tasks at the same level of responsibility.
● JOB ROTATION—Moves employees from one job to another to broaden their
experience.
4-1. What are the steps involved in the strategic planning process?
4-2. What are the steps involved in the HR planning process?
4-3. What are the HR forecasting techniques?
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Bottom-up forecast: Forecasting method in which each successive level in the
organization, starting with the lowest, forecasts its requirements, ultimately providing an
aggregate forecast of employees needed.
Relationship between Volume of Sales and Number of Workers Required:
Historically, one of the most useful predictors of employment levels is sales volume. The
relationship between demand and the number of employees needed is a positive one.
4-4. Distinguish between forecasting human resource requirements and availability.
Requirements forecast: Determining the number, skill, and location of employees the
4-5. What are the purposes of strategic planning?
4-6. What actions could a firm take if it forecasted a shortage of workers?
4-7. What are some alternatives to layoffs?
4-8. Define succession planning. Why is it important?
4-9. What is the distinction between a job and a position? Define job analysis.
4-10. When is job analysis performed?
4-11. What are the types of information required for job analysis?
4-12. What are the methods used to conduct job analysis? Describe each type.
4-13. What are the basic components of a job description? Briefly describe each.
4-14. What is the purpose of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)?
4-15. What is the purpose of the Occupational Information Network (O*NET)?
4-16. What is meant by the statement, “With team design, there are no narrow jobs”?
4-17. Describe how effective job analysis can be used to satisfy each of the following
statutes: (a) Fair Labor Standards Act; (b) Equal Pay Act; (c) Civil Rights Act;
(d) Occupational Safety and Health Act; and (e) Americans with Disabilities Act
(ADA)/ADA Amendments Act.
● Fair Labor Standards Act: Employees are categorized as exempt or nonexempt,
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● Equal Pay Act: If jobs are not substantially different, similar pay must be
provided. When pay differences exist, job descriptions can be used to show
whether jobs are substantially equal in terms of skill, effort, responsibility, or
working conditions.
● Civil Rights Act: Job descriptions may provide the basis for adequate defenses
against unfair discrimination charges in initial selection, promotion, and all other
areas of human resource administration. When job analysis is not performed,
defending certain qualifications established for the job is usually difficult.
● Occupational Safety and Health Act: Job descriptions are required to specify
elements of the job that endanger health, or are considered unsatisfactory or
distasteful by the majority of the population.
● Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)/ADA Amendments Act: Employers are
required to make reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities. The
EEOC defines reasonable accommodation as any modification or adjustment to a
job, an employment practice, or the work environment that makes it possible for
an individual with a disability to enjoy an equal employment opportunity. The
ADA Amendments Act expands the definition of “disability” and many more
applicants and employees are eligible for reasonable accommodations. Certainly
stating that every task in a job is essential sends a red flag to the EEOC.
4-18. Why is competency modeling an important practice?
4-19. Define each of the following: (a) job design; (b) job enrichment; (c) job
enlargement; (d) job rotation; and (e) reengineering.
Job design: Process of determining the specific tasks to be performed, the methods used
in performing these tasks, and how the job relates to other work in an organization.
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Reengineering: Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to
achieve dramatic improvements in critical, contemporary measures of performance, such
as cost, quality, service, and speed.
DISCUSSION OF CHAPTER 4 INCIDENTS
Incident 1: Competitive Strategy at Buddy Dog Foods
Buddy Dog Foods makes and sells dog food for puppies and adults. It has been a leader
in the industry for more than 25 years. Until recently, the company has successfully
pursued a low-cost strategy by selling a limited number of food recipes and holding down
manufacturing costs. However, Buddy Dog has lately been struggling to maintain
profitability because many new competitors offer low-cost food choices. Thus, the
hypoallergenic dog food. Buddy Dog must now make many tactical decisions in various
functional areas of the company to support its new strategic approach. Its priority is to
restructure the product development function. They will hire and retain talented
veterinary nutritionists and food allergists. The company will also hire operations
specialists. Finally, the leadership recognizes that job redesign will be needed and they
must consider how to bring current employees up to speed. Clearly, Buddy Dog has a lot
of work to do to ensure a successful implementation of its new strategic approach.
QUESTIONS
4-27. Strategic planning at all levels of the organization can be divided into four steps.
Which step in the strategic planning process led Buddy Dog Food’s management
to change its focus?
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foods. They set new objectives for the organization and have begun strategy setting to
determine how to accomplish those objectives, such as determining the skills they will
need in employees to accomplish their goals.
4-28. Following Buddy Dog’s shift in competitive strategy, what must the company’s
HR professionals consider?
4-29. What kinds of challenges could Buddy Dog face in the areas of recruitment,
training, and compensation?
Incident 2: Who’s Flying the Plane?
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4-30. What are some of the challenges facing the commercial airline industry? Discuss.
4-31. Given the changing landscape for staffing commercial airlines with qualified
pilots, what are some considerations for the airlines’ human resource
management practices?
4-32. What role has recent government regulation played in this situation? Discuss?
