Sunday, March 6, 2022

Resourcing for IE Department and Productivity Improvement Projects

 

A Manager's Job is to get results through people and other resources (Managers manage a system or systems having resources to produce goods or services and exchange them with customers, either external or internal for revenue  and profit. The resources are broadly classified as human resources and material resources.). Hence acquiring all resources (including human resources) is a function of management. - Narayana Rao (2010). Further modified on 6 March 2022.


Resourcing is a function of Management. Resource Efficiency Improvement  is a function of Industrial Engineering. Narayana Rao (5 February 2019)

Linkedin Post in IISE Group

Resourcing is a function of Management. Resource Efficiency Improvement or productivity improvement is a function of Industrial Engineering. Narayana Rao (6 March 2022)


The article which is the basis for this article was first published on Knol in 2010.

Principles of Management Revision/Review Articles - List

Replace the Function Staffing by Resourcing in Functions of Management



Koontz and O'Donnell outlined Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing and Controlling as the five functions of management and explained the process of management of these five functions.

In the place of staffing, using the word resourcing, could be a better description of management function at the current stage.

A plan to achieve something (objective) is to be  converted into an organizational plan that has resources,  facilities and people. The manager has to acquire these resources to set up the organization to implement his plan. Acquisition of human resources is staffing. But normally in modern business, the manager has to acquire money resources or finance. Then, using capital and finance, he has to  acquire land, buildings, machinery, materials and various other services. Then comes directing and resource allocation (execution).

During control phase, replanning takes place, reorganization can take place, resource adjustment (resource acquisition or disposal) may take place, and redirecting may take place to achieve the goals set forth for a period.

Planning involves choosing a direction and an intermediate destination. It has to be a profitable and a useful endeavor. In the process of planning cost benefit analysis is done.  Organizing follows and the means by which one reaches the chosen destination is defined during this activity of management.

Organizing is a process of

  • determining, grouping and structuring activities
  • creating roles for individuals for effective performance at work
  • allocating necessary authority (over resources) and responsibility for results for each role
  • determining detailed procedures and systems for different problem areas such as coordination, communication, decision-making, motivation, conflict resolution and so on.

The resources required to achieve a goal are to be identified during the organizing step of management. How many operators are required and how many supervisors are required is a function of technology employed in the organization and this decision has to be taken during the process of organization. Resourcing follows the organizing phase in the acquiring of the resources planned in the organizing phase. Organizing this way is just the planning stage. Resourcing is the stage during which all resources planned in the organizing stage are acquired by the manager.
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Resources and Resource Management (APM Body of Knowledge)


What are resources?

According to the APM Body of Knowledge, ‘the resources needed to deliver a project, programme or portfolio include people, financial resources, machinery, materials, technology, property and anything else required to deliver the work. Resources may be obtained internally from the host organisation or procured from external sources’. They can also be consumable and/or re-usable.

Resource management is acquiring, allocating and managing the resources, such as individuals and their skills, finances, technology, materials, machinery and natural resources required for a project. Resource management ensures that internal and external resources are used effectively on time and to budget. Resources may be obtained internally from the host organisation or procured from external sources.

The APM Body of Knowledge defines resource management as 'the acquisition and deployment of the internal and external resources required to deliver the project, programme or portfolio’.    

https://www.apm.org.uk/blog/what-is-resource-management/

Resource Planning 


Resource planning is an economic decision and entrepreneurs have to use it. It is discussed adequately in economics.

Choice of Inputs by the Firm

Every firm or entrepreneur has to decide how much of each input it should employ: how much labor, capital, land, energy, various materials and services.

The fundamental assumption that economists make in this context is that of cost minimization. Firms are expected to choose their combination of inputs so as to minimize the total cost of production.

Least-cost Rule: To produce a given level of output at the least cost, a firm will hire factors until is has equalized the marginal product per dollar spent on each factor of production. This implies that

Marginal product of labor/price of labor  = Marginal Product of Capital Equipment/Price of capital equipment = ...

Thus the firm will choose a factor combination or resource combination that minimizes the total cost of production.  (Source: http://nraomtr.blogspot.com/2011/12/economic-theory-of-production-and.html  )

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Recognition of Role of Resources in Management Process by Various Authors of Principles of Management or Management Process Books

Ernest Dale

Goals and Resources

Once objectives have been set,the planners must decide how far they can proceed toward them in view of the resources available, which include the money on hand, the money that sales will bring, and the funds that may be obtained by borrowing or selling equities. The decision to borrow or sell new stock will, of course, be part of the planning process and will depend on the return expected on the investment.

Finally, the planners must decide on the allocation of the funds to the various company activities and the way in which these funds will be used to generate greater income in the form of sales.  The volume of sales is, in fact, the key factor in all corporate planning.

Ernest Dale, Graduale School of Business, University of Virginia, Management: Theory and Practice, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, 1965, p.352, Chapter 22. Planning and Forecasting.

An interesting entry in Wikipedia - Resource Management

In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and effective deployment for an organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may include financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or information technology (IT). In the realm of project management, processes, techniques and philosophies as to the best approach for allocating resources have been developed. These include discussions on functional vs. cross-functional resource allocation as well as processes espoused by organizations like the Project Management Institute (PMI) through their Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) methodology to project management. Resource management is a key element to activity resource estimating and project human resource management. Both are essential components of a comprehensive project management plan to execute and monitor a project successfully
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Resourcing and Resouce Planning Departments
Office of Resource Planning, Universit of Regina
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A new concept being developed as enterprise architecting clearly brings out the need for organizing material and human organizations and provides a process for developing the both organization. From this organization output, resource requirements will be clearly specified and during the resourcing function, manager has to acquire the resources specified in the organization structure.

Harvard Business Essentials on Resource


In the book, Coaching and Mentoring: How to Develop Top Talent and Achieve Stronger Performance, published by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, in 2004

Page 2

A Manager's Job is to get results through people and other resources.



Industrial Engineering

Resourcing and resource allocation is Manager's job. Resource efficiency (using resources efficiently) is the concern of Industrial engineers



PPT of Salah R. Agha, Professor Industrial Engineering, Islamic University of Gaza on Facilities Planning and Materials Handling

Indicates role of IEs.



Resource Management Excellence: The Art of Excelling in Resource and Assets Management

H. James Harrington
Paton Professional, 2007 - Capital - 302 pages
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=tPQSjc7SXXwC

Facilities Planning


James A. Tompkins, John A. White, Yavuz A. Bozer, J. M .A. Tanchoco
John Wiley & Sons, 19-Jan-2010 - Technology & Engineering - 864 pages


When it comes to facilities planning, engineers turn to this book to explore the most current practices. The new edition continues to guide them through each step in the planning process. The updated material includes more discussions on economics, the supply chain, and ports of entry. It takes a more global perspective while incorporating new case studies to show how the information is applied in the field. Many of the chapters have been streamlined as well to focus on the most relevant topics. All of this will help engineers approach facilities planning with creativity and precision.

https://books.google.co.in/books?id=-xBIq6Qm2SQC


Resourcing Activity is well described in Project Management Literature.

Resourcing - An Important Activity in Project Management


Industrial engineers have to estimate and specify resources for their department. Whenever they propose productivity proposals, they have to use project management methods of resource estimation and ask for budget approval from the capital budgeting committee of the organization.

Resource and Capacity Management - Bibliography


Related topics

The Nature and Purpose of Planning
The Nature of Organizing
Resourcing - A Function of Management
Leading - Introduction
Planning and Execution - Theory and Practice
The System and Process of Controlling



Original Knol Number 2345


Details of the Knol

Resourcing - A Function of Management

Authors
Narayana Rao


All Rights Reserved

Version 14

Last edited: 02 Mar 2010

Exported: 26 Nov 2011

Original Knol Number 2345

(C) 2022 Narayana Rao K.V.S.S.

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