Manpower Planning: selected readings

There are obvious benefits to a society which can arrange for its people to be employed in ways which are socially profitable personally rewarding. However, it has long been clear that the uncontrolled effects of chance and market forces are insufficient to bring about this desirable end. The problem of planning the use of human resources is certainly not easy. In addition to all the usual hazards which beset the planner must be added the freedom of the individual to work or not. Nevertheless, the problems are not intractable and their importance has provided the impetus to wards their solution. This collection of readings is designed to chart the progress which has been made.
*Manpower Planning' is a term which has a wide and rather ill-defined meaning. The first section of this book is therefore addressed to the central question 'what is manpower planning?" The picture which emerges is one of an activity taking place on the borders of many specialisms with many ramifications. This makes it difficult to give a simple definition which is both concise and accurate. It will be useful at this stage, however, to single out three aspects which recur throughout the readings. The first is the statistical one in which the central interest is in the matching of the supply of people to the jobs available. This, of course, is only part of the picture because the individuals who are affected by the planning have their own aspirations and expectations. The way in which people perceive and react to their environment clearly adds a behavioural aspect to the total picture. Alongside the specialist aspects must be set the practical side which is an essential part of all applied work. Without the involvement of those with an intimate knowledge of the practical environment the best laid plans are likely to be stillborn.