SCHEDULING TECHNIQUES

 Indices of manpower utilization pinpoint parts of an organization where

manpower is being used ineffectively, they are mainly diagnostic tools.
 Even after diagnosis, however it may not be obvious why tht inefficiency has
arisen nor what the remedy is, given the demands of the operation.
 So, this scheduling techniques outlines some of the more mechanical techniques
by which manpower management may be improved.
 Network analysis, linear programming and queuing theory can be used in certain
situations to help ensure that minimum amounts of different types of manpower
are allocated quickly and efficiently where the work demands, so that minimum
costs are incurred for unproductive time or work delays.
I ) NETWORK ANALYSIS:
Net work analysis is a method of planning and controlling complex activities which
require scheduling and resource allocation, within the constraints of earliest possible
(or fixed) completion and minimum possible overall cost.
• So, it contains the lists the activities and events involved in setting up a
production line.
• An event marks the beginning or end an activity.
• Each activity may also be known by the number of its first and last events.
• Any event is often the4 start of activity and the finish of another.
• For each activity the start and finish events are connected by an arrow running left
to right.
• In some cases one event must precede another.(that is, a logical relationship must
exist between them) but there is no activity between them.
• In these cases a “dummy” arrow is introduced to indicate the relationship
involved.
• Each event is given a unique number. so that the number at the tail of any arrow is
smaller than the number at its head.
• Network analysis is most commonly used in the control of large and complicated
projects.
• The manpower planner will see a number of applications in the forecasting of
numbers and costs, recruitment and separation planning, but he may well find ,he
can become familiar with the technique by applying it to his own research
projects or to a system of collecting and co-coordinating manpower forecasts.
II) LINEAR PROGRAMMING:
• Linear programming is a technique used to achieve an allocation of limited
resources to alternative ends so that the resulting over-all allocation is the best
that can be achieved within the given constraints on resources or ends.
• An allocation is only ‘optimum’ with respect to some quantifiable criterion.
• The two usual criteria of effectiveness are
1) least costly
2) most profitable
but the other criteria (e.g. most successful defined in terms of performance or salary )
could be used.
 • Lp is primarily an algebraic technique, which involves the solution by a search
procedure of a set of simultaneous equations representing the constraints on the
solution and the criterion to be maximized.
• However in simple cases the solution can be determined graphically and this
provides the most direct demonstration of how the technique works.
a) product decisions.
b) Other allocation problems.
LP can be used to find the optimum allocation of the different types of skills to
the remaining tasks.
III) QUEUINH THEORY:
• Men may queue for work and work may queue for men.
• Both these activities can be inefficient and lead to idle time or to long delays on
completion times. but if properly controlled, a queue can also represent the
optimum relationship(in terms of cost or manpower utilization) between
manpower and workload.
• Queues are formed when discrete elements of input(men or workload) arrive at
some services point where work is done.
• It is characteristic of most queues that arrival is not regular.
• Although a queue may form if arrival is regular, control is a simple matter in
principle because it is evident that enough service capacity must be available to
process that average time spent waiting before service, are dependent upon the
relationship between rate of arrival of input and rate of output.
• Queuing theory can frequently be applied to maintenance situations.
• Queuing theory can be used to determine the consequences for both types of loss
of different service mechanisms and queue disciplines and hence the minimum
overall loss can be formed.
FACTORS AFFECTING PERFORMANCE
1) WHY ARE FACTORS IMPORTANT?
 Although techniques of allocation and deployment are valuable in the
management of any resource,including manpowet, a manager cannot
expect optimum effert or results from his men simply because he has
deployed the right number in the right place.
 In order to improve their productivity a manager must also take into
consideration a wide range of psychological and social factors and
experience.
 He can influence some of there characteristics by his recruitment policy.
 And also he can influence others by the style and policies of his
management.
 One can hardly overstress the importance of laying plans for higher
performance from individuals and attempting some conscious control of
factors which affect performance.
 Manpower planning neglects half the causes of inefficiency if it neglects
there.
 Besides the potential benefits to the manager in terms of higher
productivity the individuals whom he employs are likely to derive
 considerably greater satisfaction from their jobs if they know that they are
doing them well.
2) LEARNING THEORY: There are fundamentally three approaches to the
improvement of individual performance in a job.
o We can select individuals who possess attributes which are established to result
in better performance.
o We can improve the performance of individuals either at recruitment as later by
increasing the extent to which they posses the characteristics of associated with
good performance.
o We can alter aspects of their environment so that they are more able to use these
abilities or attributes.
Four ways of learning have been identified.
• By trail and error.
• By organizing perception.
• By observing others.
• By communication.
3) GROUP EFFECTS ON JOINT OUTPUT:
Learning by observing others and learning by communication are both possible
only by virtue of social interaction.
Communication between colleagues in particularly significant and is critically
influenced by their relationship with the group leader.
The following reasons for restrictions of output by groups have been suggested.
• The group fears some adverse change in the relationship between the effort and
reward.
• Members of the group fear unemployment as a direct result of greator effort.
• Fears exist that greater effort may lead to the disruption of existing social
relationships.
• There is some positive satisfaction to be gained from restrict6ion an output.
4)FACTORS PRIMIRILY AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF
INDIVIDUALS:
 Education, training and experience.
 Innate abilities.
 Interest, achievement, satisfaction and commitment.
 Recognition
- Hertzberg’s work has also emphasized that besides
needing the satisfactions of achievement; individuals also need to know
that this achievement is recognized by the organization.
 Discussion
- Before we go on to review factors which affect group
performance we should perhaps pause to make some observations about
the performance of individuals.
5)LEADERSHIP AND OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING GROUP
PERFORMANCE:
 Performance targets.
 Interaction of group members
  Creativity and creative ability.
UNIT-II
RETENTION:
RETENTION PLAN: though there is the problem of unemployment
,organizations experience shortage of some categories of employees and some
organizations experience shortage of some other categories of employees due to the
employee mobility.
Hence , the organizations have to plan for retention of the existing
employees.
TECHNIQUES OF EMPLOYEE RETENTION MANAGEMENT:

•Adjustment of the salary levels of the comparable industries so as ti remove the

inequalities.
• Providing opportunities for career development, providing training facilities,
adopting the policy for promoting from within, more systematic promotional
procedures, providing opportunities for self-development , assignments of
challenging work.
• Introduction of effective consultation and negotiating machinery, encouragement
of grievance redressal and conflict resolution rather than suppressing.
• Providing extensive training and development facilities, encouraging the
employees to participate in the management development programmes and
training programmes both within and outside the organization. these programme
should be effective in meeting not only organizational but also individual needs.
• Selection procedures should meet the job and organizational requirements not
only for the present position to which the candidate has supplied but also his
potentialities for future jobs in career line.
• Provide more conducive working conditions and extensive fringe benefits.
• Provide the scope for extensive participation of the employee in decision making
and create the environment that the system in the organization is participative
management but not autocratic management.
• Provide facilities and an environment for conducive interpersonal relations.
• Provide the scope of challenging, creative and innovative work.
REDEPLOYMENT
 If future surplus is estimated, the organization has to plan for
redeployment.
 If surplus is estimated in some jobs departments, employees can be
redeployed in other jobs/departments where the deficit of employees is
estimated.
 The organization should also plan for training or reorientation before
redeployment of employees.
 Redeployment takes place in the form of transfers.
 If the deficit is not estimated in any job/department and surplus is
estimated for the entire organization, the organization, in consultation with
the trade unions, has to plan for redundancy and retrenchment.
REDEPLOYMENT PROGRAMMES
The redeployment programmes are as follow.
• Outplacement: outplacement programmes are intended to provide career
guidance for displaced employees.
• This programme covers retraining the prospective displaced employees who can
be redeployed elsewhere in the organization, helping in resume writing, interview
techniques, job searching etc.
1) EMPLOYMENT IN SISTER ORGANISATION:
The surplus employees are offered employment in sister organization either at
the similar level or at lower level under the same management. this programme is
undertaken when the jobs are vacant in the sister organization.
2) EMPLOYMENT IN OTHER COMPANIES:
Under this programme, the HR manager contacts other similar companies for
possible hiring of the surplus employees, If the vacancies are available in other
companies, the HR manager helps the surplus employees in getting employment.
RETRAINING
 Retraining programmes are generally arranged for employees who have
long been in the service of an organization.
 The retraining programme may be necessitated by the following facts.
• Some employees are engaged in a confined phase of a particular
task and lose their all-round skills in a particular trade.
Hence to keep them active in all round skills, such
training is needed.
• During prolonged lay-off periods, employees on certain highly
skilled jobs are given retraining when they are called back to work.
• Technological changes may make a particular job, on which an
employee is working, unnecessary and the company may desire to
retrain him rather than discharge him.
• An employee, because of illness, accident or incapacity due to age,
may no longer be able to do his share of the work he performed
when he was in normal health.
• Economic depression or cyclical variations in production create
conditions in which employment stabilization may be achieved by
having a versatile workforce capable of performing more than one
job.
EXIT STRATEGIES
1) VOLUNTARY RETIREMENT SCHEMES: The government of India adopted
a new economic policy where by it relaxed and in certain cases removed
restrictions on import and export.
• This resulted in significant changes in industrial and business sectors.
• One of the important aspect of the liberalized economic policy is the exit
policy.
• Under this policy, the government has allowed business and industrial
establishment ,to reduce their excess staff and employees.
• Since the procedure under industrial dispute act 1947,for retrenching
involves a lot of legal hurdles and complex procedures, the government
 authorized schemes of voluntary retirement of employees offering them
suitable VR benefits and giving some tax relief on .
EFFECTS OF EXCESS MANPOWER:
 Excess manpower results in high lab our costs which increases the production cost
and thus ending in high product or service costs.
 It reduces the competitive ability of the enterprise.
 Excess manpower of any business activity or industrial establishments reduces
employee efficiency and lab our productivity.
 Surplus HR pore threat for technology up gradation which is essential in the
competitive market.
 Surplus labour may result in poor industrial relations and unrest amongst labour.
Reducing excess manpower-problems, legal aspects and solutions:
Due to because of earlier act to IDA 1947 retrenchment had given the lot of
problems to the organization.
The government had taken a decision to amend the labour laws.
EXIT POLICY:
 VRS have been legally found to be giving no problem to employers, employees
and their unions.
 The essence of the voluntary retirement scheme which is approved by the
government-involves voluntary separation of employees who are above 40 years
or have served the company or establishment for minimum 10 years.
 The company may offer different separation benefits to employees in different
age groups subject to overall benefits which are tax exempted up to a limit of Rs 5
lakh,public sector undertakings, however to obtain prior approval of the
government before offering and implementing the VRS.
The reasons for proposing VRS:
1. recession in business.
2. intense competition which makes the establishment unviable unless
downsizing is resorted
3. changes in technology, production process,innovation,new product line.
4. realignment of business-due to market.
5. joint-ventures with foreign conditions collaborations.
6. takeovers and mergers.
7. business re- engineering process.
8. product/technology obsolescence
Procedure for Voluntary Retirement Scheme:.
The employer has to issue a circular communicating his decision to offer voluntary
retirement scheme monitoring them in
1. The reason for downsizing.
2. Eligibility i.e. who are eligible to apply for voluntary retirement.
3. The age limit >40 years,10 years in organization service
4. Benefits are PF,Gratuity,salary for balance of privilege leave up to date of
retirement.
5. The right of an employer to accept or reject any application for VR.
6. The date up to which the scheme is open and applications are received for
consideration.
 7. The circular may indicate income tax incidence.

THE CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING EMPLOYEES EXIT:

• The reasons and need to introduce VRS should be discussed with all management
staff including top management.
• The effect of downsizing including on the work or activities of the establishment
carried on is to be considered.
i.e. post reduction operations to be carried on should also be
planned-post plan reduction employee deployment.
• Ensure all concerned employees and mangers participate in the decision making
to down size.
• The downsizing plan should match with the strategic plans of the company.
• Transparency should be seen and used in choice of persons to be retired.
• Be prepared to mange the after effects of the downsizing-both social and
psychological.
• Motivate employees who stay with the company will remove their apprehension
and fears if any.
• Provide professional assistance to employees who agree to accept VR to plan their
post retirement, activities and financial management including out placement.
• The VRS should be made attractive and no pressures should be used to ease out
people.