Question 1 How can national demographic changes influence the way workforce planning is conducted? In your answer discuss examples from a particular industry (or industry sector).

Question 2 By discussing examples from a particular industry (or industry sector), outline the workforce planning factors for organisations in the industry in a scenario of declining industry economic activity (fall in the demand for goods and services). How might these be different to the workforce planning factors for these organisations in a scenario of increased industry economic activity (growth in the demand for goods and services)?

Question 4 Workforce planning provides managers with a strategic basis for making human resource decisions. It allows managers to anticipate change rather than being surprised by events, and provides strategic methods for addressing present and anticipated workforce issues. By referring to the first five (5) steps of the model used by Cotten (2007) in the Maryland State Highway Administration case study (discussed in the Week 8 class) explain how workforce planning helps managers to anticipate change rather than being surprised by events.

The five steps are: Step

1: Define the Organisations Strategic Direction;

Step 2: Scan the Internal and External Environments;

Step 3: Model the Current Workforce;

Step 4: Assess Future Workforce Needs and Project Future Workforce Supply; and

Step 5: Identify Gaps and Develop Gap-Closing Strategies.