MODULE 2.

STAFFING AND ORGANIZING

Staffing as a Management Function

After an organization's structural design is in place, it needs people with the right skills,
knowledge, and abilities to fill in that structure. People are an organization's most important
resource, because people either create or undermine an organization's reputation for quality in
both products and service.
Human resource management (HRM), or staffing, is the management function devoted to
acquiring, training, appraising, and compensating employees. In effect, all managers are human
resource managers, although human resource specialists may perform some of these activities
in large organizations. Solid HRM practices can mold a company's workforce into a motivated
and committed team capable of managing change effectively and achieving the organizational
objectives.

Understanding the fundamentals of HRM can help any manager lead more effectively. Every
manager should understand the following three principles:
All managers are human resource managers.
Employees are much more important assets than buildings or equipment; good employees give
a company the competitive edge.
Human resource management is a matching process; it must match the needs of the
organization with the needs of the employee.
Staffing is an important management function. It relates to the recruitment, selection,
development, training, and compensation of human resources in an organization. It is a
continuous management function and involves the top management of most businesses.
Staffing plays a very important role in any organization. It enables the organization to
effectively and efficiently discharge all other management functions.
Efficient Performance of Other Management Functions
Staffing is an important function as it ensures efficient performance of all other management
functions. All other management functions are performed by skilled and experienced human
resources. Staffing involves recruitment and deployment of quality personnel in various
positions across an organization. If there are not competent staff, any organization cannot
perform any of the other important management tasks-planning, organizing, directing, and
controlling. Staffing is also the key in ensuring efficient utilization of resources. Human
resources recruited through the staffing process are responsible for the utilization of the latest
technology, capital, material, and other resources.

Improved Productivity
Another important contribution of the staffing process is its contribution to improved HR
productivity. Staffing helps to recruit the best possible human resources for different job roles
in the organization. It focuses on recruitment, training, and development of human resources in
organizations. This helps to contribute to improved productivity in the organization.

Development of Human Capital

Staffing is concerned with getting the right people for the job at the right time. staffing allows
HR managers to ascertain the number of staff required and when they are needed. This
provides them time to plan in advance for the recruitment of staff for various job roles. Staffing
also deals with the development and capacity building of the existing and new staff. This not
only helps in the career building of the staff, but it also contributes to the pool of existing
human capital which benefits the organization in the long run.
Building Morale and Motivation of Staff
An efficient staffing system helps considerably in building staff morale and motivation. Staffing
not only deals with the recruitment of staff, but it also entails assessing their performance and
rewarding them. They can be rewarded through monetary or non-monetary incentives which
can help build their morale and motivations. Staff feel valued in such organizations and work
with greater commitment. Staffing helps to develop uniform principles for performance
assessment and evaluation of staff and brings uniformity in the process. Overall, it also helps to
bring in peace and harmony within the organization.
Staffing Process: 9 Important Steps involved in Staffing Process
Steps involved in the process of staffing of an organization are: 1. Estimating Manpower
Requirements 2. Recruitment 3. Selection 4. Placement and orientation 5. Training and
Development 6. Performance Appraisal 7. Promotion 8. Compensation 9. Separation!

Staffing is one of the most important managerial function which helps in obtaining and fulfilling
various positions in the organization with most suitable and capable persons.
In this process the following steps are involved.

1. Estimating Manpower Requirements:

Before starting the work, the manpower requirement of the organisation is assessed. Here, two
aspects need to be taken into account while determing the requirement of manpower i.e. Type
of Employees & Number of Employees. Also the job requirement, desired qualification,
relationship between different jobs etc. is clearly drawn out.

Manpower planning involves two techniques in estimation viz. (a) Workload analysis and (b)
Workforce analysis.

(a) Workload analysis would enable an assessment of the number of an types of human
resources necessary for the performance of various jobs and accomplishment of organizational
objectives. Workload analysis ensures that there is no burden and wastage of resources and
work is completed on time.

(b) Workforce analysis would reveal the number and type available to fact such an exercise
would reveal whether organization is understaffed, overstaffed or optimally staffed. Workforce
analysis is for the existing employees. It sees manpower employed and number of manpower to
be employed.
2. Recruitment:
Recruitment is the process of searching and motivating a large number of prospective
employees for a particular job in an organization.

It includes the following activities:

(i) Determining the various sources of supply.

(ii) Evaluation of the validity of these sources.

(iii) Selecting the most suitable source or sources.

(iv) Inviting applications from the candidates for the vacancies.

3. Selection:
Under the process of selection, better applicants are selected out of a large number of them. It
must be kept in mind that the ability of the applicant & the nature of work must match. It
means that right man should be selected for the right job. This will lead to better performance
on all fronts i.e. quality, quantity, time, cost etc.
It includes the following steps:

1. Preliminary Screening

2. Selection Test

3. Employment interview

4. Reference & Background checks

5. Selection Decision

6. Medical Examination

7. Job Offer
8. Contract of Employment

4. Placement and orientation:

Placement involves putting the selected man at the right place considering his aptitude and
ability. It is the actual posting of an employee to a particular job for which he/she has been
chosen.

Orientation is also known as induction. It means introducing the newly selected employee i.e.
to various facets of the company his job, other jobs, nature of products, policies, rules and
existing employees etc. It aims at inducting new employees into the organization smoothly

5. Training and Development:

The term training implies a systematic procedure of imparting knowledge and skills for a
specific job. It benefits both the enterprise & the employee. Training increases the skills and
abilities of employees to perform specific jobs.
6. Performance Appraisal:
At this step, the capability of the employee is judged and for that, his actual work performance
is compared with the work assigned to him. If the results are unfavorable, he is again given
training and after that also if results are again unfavorable, the employee is put on some other
work.

7. Promotion:
It is a process through which employees get better salary, status, position, more responsibility
etc. In this step, employees earn their promotion to higher posts on the basis of their
performance.
8. Compensation:
The organization should have fair salary or wage structure and should give incentives to those
who deserve it. This means that jobs must be evaluated and ranked in a manner that
contributes to that contribution.

9. Separation:
It is the last step in the process of staffing. It means separating the employees from their job.
This take place in four ways i.e. through retirement, termination, retrenchment or death.

ORGANIZING

Organizing is the function of management that involves developing an organizational structure

and allocating human resources to ensure the accomplishment of objectives. The structure of
the organization is the framework within which effort is coordinated.
The Nature of Organizing
Once a plan has been created, a manager can begin to organize. Organizing involves assigning
tasks, grouping tasks into departments, delegating authority, and allocating resources across
the organization. During the organizing process, managers coordinate employees, resources,
policies, and procedures to facilitate the goals identified in the plan. Organizing is highly
complex and often involves a systematic review of human resources, finances, and priorities.
Benefits of Organizing
While the planning function of managers is essential to reaching business goals, lots of careful
planning can go to waste if managers fail to organize the company’s assets and resources
adequately. Some of the benefits of organizing include the following:
Organization harmonizes employees’ individual goals with the overall objectives of the firm. If
employees are working without regard for the big picture, then the organization loses the
cohesion necessary to work as a unit.
A good organizational structure is essential for the expansion of business activities. Because
organizational structure improves tracking and accountability, that structure helps businesses
determine the resources it needs to grow. Similarly, organization is essential for product
diversification, such as the development of a new product line.
Organization aids business efficiency and helps reduce waste. In order to maximize efficiency,
some businesses centralize operations while others arrange operations with customer or
regional demands in mind.
A strong organizational structure makes “chain of command” clear so employees know whose
directions they should follow. This in turn improves accountability, which is important when
outcomes are measured and analyzed.

Types of Organizational Structure

Organizations can be structured in various ways, with each structure determining the manner in
which the organization operates and performs. An organization’s structure is typically
represented by an organization chart (often called simply an “org chart”)—a diagram showing
the interrelationships of its positions. This chart highlights the chain of command, or the
authority relationships among people working at different levels. It also shows the number of
layers between the top and lowest managerial levels. Organizational structure also dictates the
span of control or the number of subordinates a supervisor has. An organization with few layers
has a wide span of control, with each manager overseeing a large number of subordinates; with
a narrow span of control, only a limited number of subordinates reports to each manager. The
structure of an organization determines how the organization will operate and perform.

Divisional Structure
One way of structuring an organization is by division. With this structure, each organizational
function has its own division.
Each division can correspond to products or geographies of the organization. Each division
contains all the necessary resources and functions within it to support that particular product
line or geography (for example, its own finance, IT, and marketing departments). Product and
geographic divisional structures may be characterized as follows:
Product departmentalization: A divisional structure organized by product departmentalization
means that the various activities related to the product or service are under the authority of
one manager. If the company builds luxury sedans and SUVs, for example, the SUV division will
have its own sales, engineering, and marketing departments, which are separate from the
departments within the luxury sedan division.
Geographic departmentalization: Geographic departmentalization involves grouping activities
based on geography, such as an Asia/Pacific or Latin American division. Geographic
departmentalization is particularly important if tastes and brand responses differ across
regions, as it allows for flexibility in product offerings and marketing strategies (an approach
known as localization).

Functional Structure

In a functional structure, a common configuration, an organization is divided into smaller

groups by areas of specialty (such as IT, finance, operations, and marketing). Some refer to
these functional areas as “silos”—entities that are vertical and disconnected from one another.
Accordingly, the company’s top management team typically consists of several functional heads
(such as the chief financial officer and the chief operating officer). Communication generally
occurs within each functional department and is transmitted across departments through the
department heads.
Functional structures appear in a variety of organizations across many industries. They may be
most effective within large corporations that produce relatively homogeneous goods. Smaller
companies that require more adaptability and innovation may feel confined by the
communication and creativity silos that result from functional structures.

Matrix Structure
The matrix structure is a type of organizational structure in which individuals are grouped by
two different operational perspectives at the same time; this structure has both advantages
and disadvantages but is generally best employed by companies large enough to justify the
increased complexity.
Proponents of matrix management argue that this structure allows team members to share
information more readily across task boundaries, which addresses the silo problem of
functional management. Matrix structures also allow for specialization, which can increase
depth of knowledge and and enable individuals to be assigned according to project needs.
A disadvantage of the matrix structure is the increased complexity in the chain of command
when employees are assigned to both functional and project managers. This arrangement can
result in a higher manager-to-worker ratio, which, in turn, can increase costs or lead to
conflicting employee loyalties. It can also create a gridlock in decision making if a manager on
one end of the matrix disagrees with another manager. Blurred authority in a matrix structure
can hamper decision making and conflict resolution.

Matrix structures should generally only be used when the operational complexity of the
organization warrants it. A company that operates in various regions with various products may
require interaction between product development teams and geographic marketing
specialists—suggesting a matrix may be beneficial. Larger companies with a need for a great
deal of cross-departmental communication generally benefit the most from this model.

The Organizational Process

Organizing, like planning, must be a carefully worked out and applied process. This process
involves determining what work is needed to accomplish the goal, assigning those tasks to
individuals, and arranging those individuals in a decision‐making framework (organizational
structure). The end result of the organizing process is an organization — a whole consisting of
unified parts acting in harmony to execute tasks to achieve goals, both effectively and
efficiently.
A properly implemented organizing process should result in a work environment where all team
members are aware of their responsibilities. If the organizing process is not conducted well, the
results may yield confusion, frustration, loss of efficiency, and limited effectiveness.

In general, the organizational process consists of five steps (a flowchart of these steps is shown
in Figure 1):
 1.Review plans and objectives.

Objectives are the specific activities that must be completed to achieve goals. Plans shape the
activities needed to reach those goals. Managers must examine plans initially and continue to
do so as plans change and new goals are developed.

2.Determine the work activities necessary to accomplish objectives.

Although this task may seem overwhelming to some managers, it doesn't need to be. Managers
simply list and analyze all the tasks that need to be accomplished in order to reach
organizational goals.

3.Classify and group the necessary work activities into manageable units.
A manager can group activities based on four models of departmentalization: functional,
geographical, product, and customer.

4.Assign activities and delegate authority.

Managers assign the defined work activities to specific individuals. Also, they give each
individual the authority (right) to carry out the assigned tasks.

5.Design a hierarchy of relationships.

A manager should determine the vertical (decision‐making) and horizontal (coordinating)
relationships of the organization as a whole. Next, using the organizational chart, a manager
should diagram the relationships.
Common Elements of Organizations
Organizational psychologist Edgar Schein proposes four common elements of an organization’s
structure:

Common purpose
Coordinated effort
Division of labor
Hierarchy of authority
Common Purpose
An organization without a clear purpose or mission soon begins to drift and become
disorganized. A common purpose unifies employees or members and gives everyone an
understanding of the organization’s direction. Ensuring that the common purpose is effectively
communicated across organizations (particularly large organizations with many moving parts) is
a central task for managers. Managers communicate this purpose by educating all employees
on the general strategy, mission statement, values, and short- and long-term objectives of the
organization.
Coordinated Effort
Coordinating effort involves working together in a way that maximizes resources. The common
purpose is achieved through the coordinated effort of all individuals and groups within an
organization. The broader group’s diverse skill sets and personalities must be leveraged in a
way that adds value. The act of coordinating organizational effort is perhaps the most
important responsibility of managers because it motivates and distributes human resources to
capture value.

Division of Labor
Division of labor is also known as work specification for greater efficiency. It involves delegating
specific parts of a broader task to different people within the organization based upon their
particular abilities and skills. Using division of labor, an organization can parcel out a complex
work effort for specialists to perform. By systematically dividing complex tasks into specialized
jobs, an organization uses its human resources more efficiently.

Hierarchy of Authority
Hierarchy of authority is essentially the chain of command—a control mechanism for making
sure the right people do the right things at the right time. While there are a wide variety of
organizational structures—some with more centralization of authority than others—hierarchy
in decision making is a critical factor for success. Knowing who will make decisions under what
circumstances enables organizations to be agile, while ambiguity of authority can often slow
the decision-making process. Authority enables organizations to set directions and select
strategies, which can in turn enable a common purpose.

ACTIVITY # 2
1. Write about the best staffing pattern if you were a manager.
2. Give an example of an organization, create an organizational chart and explain its
organizational structure.
Submit soft copy of activity through email. Compile hardcopy of activity to be passed at the end
of the semester.
Upon submission of the activity, put file name of the activity with this format…Module no.
Activity no. full name, year and section.
Reflections
State your learnings on the module. Submit together with the activity on the module. (soft copy
and hard copy).

References:

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/principles-of-management/staffing-and-human-resource-
management/staffing-as-a-management-
function#:~:text=Human%20resource%20management%20(HRM)%2C,%2C%20appraising%2C%20and%
20compensating%20employees.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staffing

https://www.aceboston.net/2020/03/09/heres-why-is-staffing-important-in-organizations/

https://www.businessmanagementideas.com/staffing/staffing-process-9-important-steps-involved-in-
staffing-process/2346

https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/organization/important-components-or-elements-required-for-
staffing-an-organisation/8668

https://www.recruiter.com/i/staffing-manager/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wmopen-introbusiness/chapter/organizing/

https://www.ispatguru.com/organizing-a-management-function/

https://www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/principles-of-management/creating-organizational-
structure/the-organizational-process

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-management/chapter/components-of-an-organization/