STRATEGY FOR IMPROVING MANPOWER PLANNING AND UTILIZATION

ABSTRACT

Manpower planning and utilization is very important for effectiveness of the civil service commission and economic growth of Anambra state in particular. Manpower planning and utilization was designed to restructure organizations with incapacitated staff, incompetent human resources and lack of executive capacity etc. The researcher also gave a conceptual framework and review of some related literature that is in line with manpower planning and utilization. Most importantly its objective to the governmental agencies and organizations. In pursuit of the above goals of this study. The researcher distributed and administered questionnaires to the employees of Anambra state civil service commission. The responses from the questionnaires were analyzed using simple percentage and tables for proper clarification. From the analysis and interpretation of the hypotheses, the researcher found out that many problems affected the manpower planning and utilization in civil service of Anambra state. Such as poor coordination among the agencies charged with the responsibility of manpower planning, incompetent professionals and others. Based on these findings, the researcher has made serious recommendation on the best way to restructure the civil service commission for effectiveness and efficiency in their productivity and performance, particularly in Anambra state.

CHAPTER ONE

1.0   GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Given the increasing volatile and complex socio­-economic structure of our business organization in Nigeria, two basic factors are crucial for business success: capital and human resources. Capital whether acquired through loans or from private sources, it by far easier to mange, control only when there is qualified and quality human resources. Organizations whether public or private are prone to jeopardy when there is no adequate human resource/manpower planning.

It is from the forging premise that the compelling need arises for manpower planning and development as a sine-qua-non for enhanced productivity. Despite the available human/manpower, organizations in Nigeria have not been properly managed nor do the available human resources manage adequately. This calls for strategic ways for improving human resource/manpower planning and its utilization to improving our economy. When organizations are properly managed and are not productive, the economy of the country will be badly affected.

According to 1974 Udoji report and quoted by Oshioneno (2001) the public service must be changed and strengthened to respond effectively to demand of development. They need qualified and skilled and motivated people at the right place and at the right to achieve objectives, to transfer paper plan into actual achievement of all aspect of personnel management, perhaps the most important for us here in Nigeria today is training.

It is good to note that civil service has continued to accord appreciable attention to proper strategies for improving manpower planning and staff development. In the wake of the professionalism introduced or reinforced by 188 Civil Service Reform, it was imperative for every job incumbent to possess requisite knowledge, skills and attitudinal tendencies in specific job activity in government service. Accordingly, we are told that in order to improve economy and efficiency and raise the performance standard of employer’s to the minimum possible level of proficiency Ministry is to establish, operate and maintain programmes or plans for the training or employees in or under the ministry (FRN,1988).

Even government in experiencing serious revenue shortfalls to meet its development objectives, staff rationalization and other downsizing measures, have the consequence of the revenue shortfalls in both the public and private sectors as well as across economic sub-sectors.

Human resource planning, according to Banjiko (1996) can therefore be seen an the overall organization planning process by which the organization tries to ensure that, it has right number of persons and the right kind of people and at the right time, at the right places performing functions which are economically useful and which satisfy the needs of the organization and provide satisfaction for the individual involved.

To have the right number and quality of people requires effective strategies for human resource planning and serious managerial and commitment. It is important for the following reasons:

First, for any organization to achieve a reasonable degree of success, it is important neither to planned with excess or inadequate manpower. Human resources are always costly to acquire and retain therefore making it economically difficult to justify keeping excess manpower. When we have excess employees, it can cause serious problems for and organization. Also the organization cannot keep or afford to keep too few employees as over-work by the few available employees may retard work progress and lead to a lot of dysfunctional behaviour in the part of employees. Effective strategic manpower planning and its utilization that takes into account the whole arrange of potential planning factor can help to determine the right quality and kind of employees to keep.

Second, effective strategies for improving human resource planning can be useful for stabilizing employment level.

Third, the need to cope with possible future changes and competitive forces in both the product and labour markets, in technology and government regulatory requirement call for a realistic and effective human resource planning.

The Nigeria public service is the greatest employer of labour in Nigeria. The Civil Service Commission, both at federal and at state level have the responsibility of manpower recruitment, selection and employment. Government programmes and projects are becoming more complex and difficult, thus necessity to plan manpower in order to meet challenges. In order to undertake good strategy for improving manpower planning and utilization in Anambra state, government should through its personnel mangers analyze from time to time to various positions available, anticipate expansion of service and take cognizance of some factors that influence employment in the public sector. Such factors as quota system, political and fiscal policies of government.

In the face of decreasing productivity in public sector, the Obasanjo’s administration in 2006 set up body to reform the public sector/service, especially in the employment of only qualified graduates. The Bureau of public service, headed by Mallam EI-Rufai is empowered to revive the public service to ensure effectiveness. The reform will lead to retrenchment of about thirty thousand workers unqualified, imcompetent and dead wood) and the employment, training and development of about one thousand five hundred fresh graduates with first class and second­class University degree.

For effective manpower planning in Anambra state, it must consider the following factors: organizational changes, impending business decision and technology innovations.

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