Manpower planning and development in an organization

Manpower planning has in the past relied too much on the forecasting of manpower requirements in an organization or a society. It should be more concerned with gaining a better understanding of people, and how to develop and match their skills to what organizations or societies require. Employees should be involved in the formulation of manpower policy objectives. Manpower planning involves a ‘stocktaking’ of the workforce and its skills; forecasting the future demand and supply of skills; and diagnostic approach so that adjustments can be made to meet organizational and/or country objectives. The essence of the diagnostic approach is in the understanding of the reasons for any imbalance between the supply of and demand for manpower.