Arab British Academy for Higher Education

PROBLEMSINMANPOWERPLANNING
Manymanpowerschemesfailcompletelyordonotreachtheirfullpotential,mainly
becausetheprogrammeisnotimplementedinthewayforwhichitwasdesigned.
Someofthereasonsforthesefailuresareindicatedbelow:

(a)

Thelackofsensitivitytoproblemsandsolutions
Thisimportantobstacletotheimplementationofeffectivemanpowerplanning
iscausedbythegeneralapathyoflinemanagers.Managementstillseemstobe
particularlyconcernedaboutfinancialandmaterialresourcesandhasa
tendencytoneglectthecriticalfactorofhumanresources.Overthepastfew
decades,productivityhasincreasedasaresultofimprovedtechnology,butany
furtherimprovementwilldepend,toaverygreatextent,uponimproved
manpowerutilisation.Inthisrespect,managementisrequiredtoshowagreater
respecttotheroleofmanpowerinprofitability.

(b)

Shorttermprofitgoals
Intheshorttermthereisatendencytoviewmanpowerplanningas
unprofitableandtoocostly.Thisrepresentsthetraditionalviewthatcostsof
personnelareoverheadcostsandnotdirectcosts.Itisessentialthat
managementreviewthisproblemandweighthebenefitsagainstthecosts.Itis
possiblethatthislackofconcernovermanpowerplanningcouldbeattributed
tolackofinformation.Ifinformationisnotforthcoming,thenmanpower
planningisafutileexercise.

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(c)

Lackofcriteria.
Thelackofinformationcanleaddirectlytotheabsenceofcriteriaagainst
whichtomeasureperformance.Itisnotaneasytasktomeasurehuman
performancewithouttheuseofadequatequantitativedata.Itiseasyto
measurethedepreciationofmaterialgoods,outhumanbeingstendto
appreciatewiththepassingoftime,andthisappreciationqualityhasnever
beenmeasured.Thetendencyofmanagementistomeasurehuman
beings,onlyintermsoftheircosttotheorganisation.Managementshould
becomeawareofthefactthattheevaluationofperformanceislong,
complex,uncertainandabstract,anditisnecessarythattheycontinuetheir
planningwithouttheuseofobjectivecriteria.

(d)

Complexityoftheorganisation
Manyorganisationshaveincreasedtremendouslyinrecentyearsand
someappeartohavedifficultyindeterminingtheexactsizeofthe
workforce.Theyappeartobeincapableofupdatingtheretrievable
informationwhichisessentialtomanpowerplanning.Becauseofthe
increasingcomplexityoforganisations,itisbecomingmoreessentialto
keepatrackonthemovementsofemployees,aswellasallthepersonal
detailswhichmaybeofuseinplanning.Thisiswherethepersonnel
managerandhisstaffmustexerciseakeensupervision.

(e)

Rapidchanges
Therateoftechnologicalchangecausesdifficultiesinmanpowerplanning.
Thisisbecause,attimes,itisdifficulttokeepupwiththetechnical
development.Thereisalwaysresistancetochangewithinanorganisation,
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butsomehowthisresistancemustbeovercomeifmanpoweristobe
utilisedeffectively.Onepossiblemethodofovercomingthisresistanceto
changeonpartoftheexistingstaffistointroducenewemployees,withnew
ideasfromoutsideoftheorganisation.
(f)

Lackofcommunication

Thisproblemistheoldestandmostcommoninpersonneladministration.
Manpowerplanningisnowbecomingasophisticatedprocess,onlyinvolvingthe
useofexperts,andtheseexpertsmusthaverapidaccesstoaccurateinformation.
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