HR Planning,

Job Analysis,
Workforce Diversity
and Equal
Employment
Opportunity

SSB2124 Industrial Relations and

Human Resources
Learning Outcomes
After studying this chapter, the student will be able to :
(i) Discuss the importance of human resources planning in organizations and its
features.
(ii) Define the term job analysis and its steps.
(iii) Explain Workforce Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity.
(iv) To understand why and how national and international organisations need to plan
their future workforce and the role of HR in workforce intelligence planning.
(v) To understand how the concept of diversity has developed from an earlier focus on
equal opportunities.
(vi) To explore different perspectives on Diversity Management (DM), including
mainstream and critical perspectives.
 HR Planning
– Human resources planning can be described as a process of ascertaining the manpower
requirements of an organization which should be aligned with the strategic goals of the
organization.
– “a process by which an organisation should move from its current manpower position to
its desired manpower position” (E.W. Vetter)
– Some of the features are:
– (i) Well defined objectives of human resource planning.
Example: Training - HR managers may want to prepare extensive training programmes to
ensure that employees are updated with the latest information and technical skills they need
for doing the best they can in their roles.
By developing the workforce's skills, the overall efficiency and productivity of the
organisation are likely to improve.
 HR Planning
(ii) Human resource plan needs of the organization.
 HR Planning
(iii) Manpower planning in advance.
 HR Planning
(iv) Creating Proper Work Environment.
 Application of technology has already changed
when and where work is done in practically every
industry as workplaces of the industrial age give
– The workforce and workplace of way to work practices of the digital age, including
remote work, flexible work and on demand work.
tomorrow will be very different from
those of today.
– Organisations need specific skills and
attributes from their leaders.
– Employees will have markedly
different needs and preferences, and
workers will have different views based
on their experiences, culture, ethnicity
and education.
What does Industry 4.0 actually mean? It is mostly repackaging, combining and reorganising capabilities and
technologies that already exist with a blanket connectivity layer to enable total interoperability, collecting data,
manipulating it and then applying it as positive feedback to improve functionality and efficiency.
 Job Analysis
– Job Analysis involves gathering information and analysis of
information of crucial information about a job.
– In this analysis judgements are made on the data collected
of a job. Job Analysis involves both Job Description and
Job Specification, which includes an assessment of the
nature of the job as well as the knowledge, skills and
attitude of the jobholder.
– In other words, Job Description provides details regarding
the content of the job in a written format and Job
Specification is a written record of the qualities and
qualifications which a Jobholder should be having for
handling a job.
– Job analysis involves the steps:
(1) Analyzing the job interrelationship with the (2) Determining the uses of Job Analysis like
organizational strategies and vision. Recruitment & Selection, Compensation, Training &
Development, etc.

(3) Identification of job which would be analyzed (4) Collection of data for job analysis through
observation, interviews and questionnaire
administration.

(5) Preparing the Job Description which is essentially a (6) Preparing the Job Specifications which should
written account of the job. essentially provide details regarding the specific skills,
qualities and qualifications which a job holder should
possess.
(7) Reviewing and updating the information and the
interrelationship collecting job information.
Workforce Diversity and Equal
Employment Opportunity
 Diversity and Discrimination
– Diversity refers to the variety of differences and
similarities between people that make all of us unique
and different from others.

– https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEX
PUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C111
Diversity and Discrimination
Types of diversity
 Managing Diversity
Managing diversity is focused on
‘creating a working culture that seeks,
respects, values and harnesses difference
(Schneider, 2001: 27).

It is therefore underpinned by the view

that the differences between people
should be valued and can represent a
source of competitive advantage (Kirton
and Greene, 2004).
 Diversity and Discrimination
Workforce diversity
- the important similarities and differences among
the employees of organizations.
- In diverse workforce, managers are compelled
to recognise and handle the similarities and
differences that exist among the people in
organisations.
Stereotypes
- are generalisations about a person or a group of
persons based on certain characteristics or traits

- It occurs when managers classify workers into

some particular group based on something like
age and gender ~ easily identifiable
characteristics and to treat these groups as
“different”.
 Diversity and Discrimination
Prejudices

Are judgments about others that

reinforce beliefs about superiority
and inferiority

• When people prejudge other, they

make assumptions about others that
may or may not true, and they
manage accordingly.
 Diversity and Discrimination

They fail to recognize employee’s

distinctive individual talent, that
causes employees to lose self-esteem
and lower levels of job satisfaction
and performance.

If assume someone as incompetent

and treat the person as he/she is, this
can lead to reduced productivity,
lower creativity, and lower morale.
Dimensions of diversity
Primary dimensions of diversity
Factors that are either inborn or exert extraordinary
influence on early socialization - age, race and
ethnicity, gender, physical and mental abilities, and
sexual orientation.

Secondary dimensions of diversity

Factors that matter to us as individuals and that to
some extent define us to others; however, they may
be less permanent than primary dimensions and can
be adapted or changed - educational background,
geographical location, income, marital status,
military experience, parental status, religious
beliefs, and work experience.
The value of diversity
Assimilation

• A process through which members of a minority

group are forced to learn the ways of the majority
group
• E.g., by requiring employees speak only one
language like imposing English-only rule - workers
who are different are expected to meet the standards
for dominant group members.
• Can result in tension among workers, lower
productivity, increased cost due to increasing
absenteeism, increased employee turnover, and
lower morale among the workers.
The value of diversity
Valuing Diversity
• Putting an end to the assumption that everyone who
is not a member of the dominant group must
assimilate
• These fresh perspectives may lead to development
of new products, opening of new markets, or
improving service to existing customers
• More creative, motivated, and productive, they
have a greater sense of teamwork, stronger
identification with the team, and deeper commitment
to the organization and its goals.
Equal Opportunities
-Inequality has become an ever-greater focus of
social policy.

➢ Anti-discrimination legislation has been

introduced by the government to eradicate
disadvantage on the basis of age, gender, race and
ethnicity, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and
disability.

➢ However, despite the wide-ranging nature of the

legislation, research continues to reveal evidence of
significant labour market inequality.
 Gender

– The labour market for men and women is highly separated.

– Women in employment were working in administrative
and secretarial jobs.
– Nonetheless, there remains significant under representation
of women at senior positions across a variety of
organisations.
– Even in countries that rank highly according to the 2016
United Nations Gender Inequality Index (Australia,
Netherlands, Germany, US and Canada are all in the top
ten nations), gender inequality remains stubbornly
persistent.
 Disability

– People with disabilities earn less than

those without an impairment.

– Even though there is an increase in

employment among those with
disabilities, but the increase in the
percentage is still very small compared
to those without an impairment.
DASAR PENGAMBILAN

5. Dasar satu peratus peluang pekerjaan dalam

perkhidmatan awam kepada OKU menetapkan bahawa
setiap agensi hendaklah memastikan pengambilan
OKU dibuat sekurang-kurangnya satu peratus daripada
jumlah pegawai dalam agensi tersebut. Dasar ini
diperluas meliputi pelantikan secara tetap, sementara,
kontrak atau apa-apa kaedah pelantikan yang
berkuatkuasa.
 Ethnicity
– Patterns of inequality according to
ethnicity are more complex, reflecting the
different experiences of diverse ethnic
groups, but suggest that certain groups
display significantly unequal employment
outcomes.
– Members of certain minority ethnic
groups appear to face ‘double jeopardy’ in
the labour market, experiencing inequality
on a number of fronts.
– However, not all minority ethnic groups
experience similar degrees of inequality.
Therefore, despite legislation and an increasing number of employers claiming to be equal opportunities employers or to
promote workforce diversity, there remains significant evidence of labour-market inequality for groups of workers who are
making up an increasing proportion of the labour supply.

Dickens (2005) observes that despite some evidence of progress towards greater workplace equality, it is both slow and often
difficult to identify.

it is important to recognise that they reflect the historic interaction of a wide range of social, educational, economic and
political factors, they do demonstrate that certain groups of workers appear to be disadvantaged in accessing employment,
obtaining particular types of work and achieving earnings comparable to the majority.

These patterns of interaction vary from country to country.

 MNCs and Diversity Management

– MNCs should not simply rely on Western models of diversity management

– Global diversity strategy
– Centrally controlled but adapted to the different national contexts within which the organisation
operates
– Multinational diversity strategy
– Policies are developed (by local professionals) for each national context (e.g. in each subsidiary)
 Practising Equality in an International Context
Global Diversity Forums Global Employee Networks Global Diversity Training

To coordinate the global diversity Employee-led network A common feature of diversity

strategy and disseminate key diversity management best practice
messages to all employees Encourage to self-form and self-
organize but are usually supported and MNCs’ often seek to provide the
To include senior executives from all facilitated by the HR department training on a global basis using
the global operations electronic training tools to access
Made up of employees who belong to a employees across the globe
Need to have a decision and policy specific social category or have
making function and to analyse common interest, background or Specially developed for the different
diversity activities and statistics in all experiences national contexts is also desirable
the regions where the MNCs’ operate
Eg; women’s leadership networks,
global disabilities group etc
Reference

– Jonathan R. Crawshaw, Jude Preston and Alastair Hatch. 2017. Human Resource
Management Strategic And International Perspectives. Second Edition. SAGE
Publications Ltd.
– Prachi Juneja via http://managementstudyguide.com/