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As employment costs and, regrettably, Government interference increase, companies are beginning to recognize the need for a rational manpower policy or strategy to take account of new circumstances. To do this many policies will need a complete re‐think and to make the new policies rational they will need to be based on reliable assessments of present and future manpower needs. This can only be done through the framework of manpower planning.

Introduction It has been said that “the human resource is probably the last great cost that is relatively unmanaged”. Since this article was written in 1982, we are aware of the recognition for, and the implementation of, management and planning for this resource. The new emphasis on the human resource is probably a result of a change in attitude on the part of management.

Manpower planning consists of three stages. These are: forecasting manpower demand, forecasting manpower supply, and the formulation of manpower policies (See Figure 1).

Manpower planning is defined in terms of the elements of prediction and control, and certain key aspects of these dimensions are identified. It is suggested that there is scope for integrating what are essentially quantitative and qualitative approaches to manpower planning. At organisational level, manpower planning activities have certain constraints and these must be considered. The question of personnel movement in relation to the organisation is discussed as a manifestation of organisational behaviour, and certain dimensions of organisational control are considered. It is argued that a consideration of the theoretical and practical contributions of behavioural scientists are essential for manpower planning.

In an earlier issue of this journal we compared international experiences in manpower planning at the national level. We offered a matrix of planning approaches (Figure 1), a typology of the politico‐economic systems in which such planning has occurred (not repeated here) and a conceptual framework classifying the objectives and approaches of various countries by stage of economic development (Figure 2). We promised a subsequent article drawing lessons from planning experience which might contribute to improving the international manpower planning process. This, belatedly, is that follow‐up article. In it we review the status of manpower planning in developed, newly industrialising and labour‐short, less developed countries (LDCs). Then we report criticisms which have been levelled at national manpower planning in labour‐surplus LDCs, explain what we see to be the reasons for what has been criticised, identify lessons and make recommendations which we believe will skirt many of the problems identified.

Addresses the standardization of the measurements and the labels for concepts commonly used in the study of work organizations. As a reference handbook and research tool, seeks to improve measurement in the study of work organizations and to facilitate the teaching of introductory courses in this subject. Focuses solely on work organizations, that is, social systems in which members work for money. Defines measurement and distinguishes four levels: nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio. Selects specific measures on the basis of quality, diversity, simplicity and availability and evaluates each measure for its validity and reliability. Employs a set of 38 concepts ‐ ranging from “absenteeism” to “turnover” as the handbook’s frame of reference. Concludes by reviewing organizational measurement over the past 30 years and recommending future measurement reseach.

Manpower planning is a key aspect of the human resource management function in organizations. Specifically, manpower planning examines the gap between staff availabilities (internal and external to the organization) and staffing requirements (to perform tasks in the organization) over time, and prescribes courses of action to narrow such a gap. Different perspectives in manpower planning have each been studied widely in the past. However, few insights are available on the interactions among these perspectives and the impact of these interactions on the resultant manpower plans. Describes these interactions in the form of decision and feedback loops. From this description, derives an integrated decision support system (DSS) framework for manpower planning. Also presents a methodology for analysis of the manpower planning business process and feasibility assessment of DSS deployment. The system framework and analysis methodology constitute a basis for applications deployment and consultancy undertaken by the author’s institute.

The City of Bradford Metropolitan Council is one of the new Councils to appear as a result of the 1974 Local Government organisation. It has wide ranging responsibilities, including the provision of Education, collecting of refuse, repair of highways, housing etc. It employs just under 24,000 employees, and has a manpower budget of well over £100 millions.

This paper aims to investigate the current status of manpower capability, and to identify the key factors that influenced the development of manpower capability within private house building companies in Libya.

The aim and the proposition of the research are set out after a literature review and synthesis. Then a multiple case study approach is adopted to conduct exploratory case studies into joint venture housing projects.

The findings of the study confirm that there should be an interlinked tripartite strategy between the Government, foreign investors and local private house building firms to improve manpower capability so that the Government's housing targets are achieved and sustained. The proposed integrated framework offers a targeted approach to achieve a stepped change in achieving both a quantitative and qualitative growth in housing.

The paper makes an original contribution to the knowledge on joint venture house building in developing countries. The research identifies the current strengths and weaknesses of manpower in professing a stepped change in the area to meet the needs of the Government's housing target, and while the majority of the changes are applicable within the Libyan case study context, opportunities exist to generalise towards other developing countries thereby to gain further value out of this research.

The study aims to reveal the state of building operation and maintenance (O&M) manpower in Hong Kong. In addition, the study included supply and demand of O&M practitioners, gaps between their required and possessed competences and ways to meet the manpower needs.

After developing a model that integrates manpower levels (L), trades (T) and natures (N) of O&M works (named as “LTN” model), a full spectrum of O&M jobs were established followed by collecting data of 75 organizations and 402 stakeholders through two surveys.

Besides the large O&M workforce, vacancy rates of the jobs were found to be significant. For the different trades and natures of O&M works, the knowledge/skills levels perceived by the stakeholders were lower than the corresponding importance levels.

The methodology of the study can be used in future research for revealing the state of O&M manpower in Hong Kong and cities alike. The way in which the “LTN” model was developed may be used as a reference for constructing similar models for manpower research in other industries.

The findings and the measures for improving the O&M manpower can assist policymakers and human resources departments to formulate necessary education and training courses for the building industry.

The study is the first of its kind focusing on building O&M manpower. The state of the manpower it unveiled forms a basis for comparison with similar findings in future.