Tanglewood Case$-$ adapted from Kammeyer$-$Mueller $(2023)$

Tanglewood is a chain of general retail stores selling clothing, appliances, electronics, and home decor. The company operates in the moderate price niche, targeting middle$-$ and upper$-$income customers. Tanglewood's strategic distinction is an "outdoors" theme, with a large camping and outdoor living section in every store. The store also distinguishes itself by its simple, elegant, and uncluttered design concepts for the store and its in$-$house products. Its mission statement is:

Tanglewood will be the best department store for customers seeking quality, durability, and value for all aspects of their active lives. We are committed as a company to providing maximum value to our customers, shareholders, and employees. We will accomplish this goal by adhering to the core values of responsible financial management, clear and honest communication, and always keeping performance and customer service at the forefront.

The Staffing Services Director of Tanglewood, Daryl Perrone, has requested your assistance in completing an HR planning analysis for the $10$ stores in two regional divisions in Minnesota. After these overall goals are developed for the state, the policy will be disseminated across all $10$ individual stores. Data from the individual stores will then be sent to the corporate offices for analysis and re$-$evaluation.

The basic model for planning includes $(1)$ forecasting labor requirements, $(2)$ forecasting labor availabilities, $(3)$ conducting environmental scans, $(4)$ determining gaps, and $(5)$ developing action plans. Historical data from these two divisions have been presented in the transition probability matrix $($Table $1).$ The transition probability matrix was developed based on the historical staffing pattern for Minnesota over the past five years. The first stage of investigating staffing is to use the previous years' staffing patterns as a preliminary forecast of labor requirements, then the internal availability based on retention, internal promotions, transfers and demotions, and a determination of gaps by subtracting forecasted availabilities from future requirements.