about business

1. MODULE 6
MANAGEMENT FUNCTION: STAFFING
Nature of Staffing Function.
Staffing is the process of determining and providing the
acceptable number and mix of personnel to produce a
desired level of service to meet the business’ demand.
Staffing or also known as Human Resource
Management is now recognized as a separate
management function. Previously it was considered to be
a part of organization function of management. The
reason for separating the staffing from organizing is to
give proper emphasis to the actual manning of
organizational roles. The staffing function has assumed
greater importance these days because of rapid
advancement of technology, increasing size of
organizations and complicated behavior of human
beings. The management of the enterprise must give due
importance to human resources planning, recruitment,
and selection, training, appraisal and remuneration of
workers.
As to nature, Staffing is as follows:
A. Managerial Responsibility. Staffing is a basic function
of management. Every manager is continuously
engaged in performing the staffing function.
B. Continuous Function- Staffing function is to be
performed continuously. Every manager is engaged in
various staffing activities. He is to guide and train the
workers and also evaluate their performance on
continuous basis.
C. Concerned with Human Element - Staffing function is
concerned with procurement and development of
human resources. Every manager should use human
relations skill in providing guidance and training to the
subordinates.
Importance of Staffing.
The importance of staffing has increased because of the
following factors:
1. Efficient Performance - The efficient performance of
the company depends on the quality of the people
employed. This has increased the significance of
staffing.
2. Use of Latest Technology - Many significant
changes are taking place in technology. In order to
make use of the latest technology, the appointment of
right type of persons is necessary.
3. Development of Manpower - The management has
to train and develop the existing personnel for future
promotion. This will meet the requirements of the
company in future.
4. Optimum Use of Manpower - Management has to
spend money on recruitment and selection, training
wages, salaries, and the like in order to get the
optimum out from the personnel.
Elements of Staffing.
I. MANPOWER PLANNING.
Manpower Planning/ Human resource Planning It is
concerned with the determining the number and types of
staff required for the organization.

2. Manpower planning means to see whether the person to
whom some work is assigned are capable to do it or not.
An important part of manpower planning is the Job
Analysis. This is the procedure in determining duties and
skill requirements for a position as well as other
qualifications sought for in an employee or applicant. In
job analysis, specific tasks and activities, required
behavior, job standards, work conditions and personal
characteristics are determined.
Though there is no standard format for job description, it
usually contains the following:
 Job title or position
 Reporting relationships
 Job classification: rank of the job
 General Description: provides description of the job
and overview of its duties and responsibilities
 Specific Duties and responsibilities: describes the
function of the job in detail
 Job specification: provides the minimum qualifications
for the particular job such as educational background,
experience, skills, and personal qualities.
II. RECRUITMENT
Recruitment is the process of searching and attracting
prospective employees and encouraging
them to apply for jobs in the enterprise.
III. SELECTION
Selection is the process of selecting best suited
candidates for the jobs from among those who have
applied for these jobs in the enterprise. It is in this stage
when applicants who qualify after preliminary screening
are scheduled for preliminary interview and psychological
testing.
The usual types of psychological tests given to the
applicants are the following:
a. Mental Ability Test- The test of general knowledge
containing questions on linguistic and numerical abilities
and abstract reasoning.
b. Aptitude test- This measures specific abilities and the
applicant’s inclination to succeed in a particular field.
c. Personality Test- Questions measure aspects of
behavior such as cooperation, initiative, dependability,
responsibility, and sociability.
IV. PLACEMENT
Placement of Personnel This is the last stage on the
hiring process. The new employees need to be
familiarized with their units, supervisors and fellow
employees. They should be placed on the jobs for which
they are suited.