Human Resource Forecasting and Strategy Development: Guidelines for Analyzing and Fulfilling Organizational Needs

(Hardback)

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A collection of original articles by leading practitioners and researchers, this volume examines methods for human resource forecasting and planning to meet the strategic needs of the organization. As the editors note at the outset, changing characteristics of the workforce and new skill demands mean that human resource planning must become an integral part of corporate strategy development and implementation. In order to compete successfully in an era of rapid technological change, organizations must be able to adequately forecast their needs for different types of employees, consider the extent to which current employees have the needed skills, and examine labor force availability. This book describes ways to collect the necessary environmental data and formulate human resource strategies that recognize current and anticipated changes both in the organization and in the environment in which it operates. The volume begins with a discussion of environmental scanning techniques. The contributors demonstrate how to identify environmental trends, including labor force demographics, and how to apply this information to the development of human resource strategies. The second section considers ways to analyze the organization's future human resource needs by examining employee demographics and job attitudes. In Part Three, the contributors describe how organizations formulate human resource strategies in response to environmental trends and organizational goals. The next group of chapters offers examples of the human resource implications of organizational change. This section includes separate chapters on job loss and employee assistance programs and the effects of a corporate merger, as well as two case studies of the relationship between human resource planning and corporate strategic goals. The contributors conclude by describing organizational reactions to changing environments brought about by an aging workforce, work-at-home jobs, new computer and telecommunications technologies, and the increasing cultural diversity of the workforce. Indispensable for human resource managers and corporate planning executives, this book will also be of significant value to researchers and students in human resource and strategic planning programs.

Reviews

A collection of original articles by leading researchers and practitioners, this volume examines the role of strategic human-resource forecasting and implementation within an organizational context. This practical book is designed to inform human resource managers, business planners, corporate executives, and public officials alike regarding the need for, and approaches to, linking external environmental changes with institutional business plans and, in turn, the organization's human-resource requirements. The volume is organized into 5 parts with 16 chapters. Part 1 examines various environmental summary techniques used to translate external trends into organizational human-resource strategies. Part 2 examines how internal variables such as employee demographics and career activities relate to institutional human-resource needs. The three chapters in Part 3 describe ways organizations formulate human-resource strategies, while the fourth part offers examples of the human-resource implications of organizational change. The final part describes the reactions of various organizations to their changing environments. While much has been written about the topic, the vitality of today's changing environment warrants a fresh look at the emerging need for improved organizational human-resource strategies, and this volume provides some useful insights toward this end. University and professional collections.-Choice
"A collection of original articles by leading researchers and practitioners, this volume examines the role of strategic human-resource forecasting and implementation within an organizational context. This practical book is designed to inform human resource managers, business planners, corporate executives, and public officials alike regarding the need for, and approaches to, linking external environmental changes with institutional business plans and, in turn, the organization's human-resource requirements. The volume is organized into 5 parts with 16 chapters. Part 1 examines various environmental summary techniques used to translate external trends into organizational human-resource strategies. Part 2 examines how internal variables such as employee demographics and career activities relate to institutional human-resource needs. The three chapters in Part 3 describe ways organizations formulate human-resource strategies, while the fourth part offers examples of the human-resource implications of organizational change. The final part describes the reactions of various organizations to their changing environments. While much has been written about the topic, the vitality of today's changing environment warrants a fresh look at the emerging need for improved organizational human-resource strategies, and this volume provides some useful insights toward this end. University and professional collections."-Choice

Author Bio

MANUEL LONDON is Professor and Director of the Labor/Management Studies Program in the Harriman School for Management and Policy at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His previous works include Career Growth and Human Resource Strategies (1988), also published by Quorum. EMILY S. BASSMAN is District Manager at Pacific Bell in the area of Human Resource Planning and Organizational Capability. JOHN P. FERNANDEZ is President of Advanced Research Management Consultants, a Philadelphia-based consulting firm specializing in human resource issues.