A partial list of tasks and ksAs for the position of regional sales manager

Job Tasks

Use data from last year’s sales, the present state of the economy, and the number of competitors in the region to develop a sales forecast for each product item for the next six months. Interview applicants for sales positions and, together with the district sales manager, decide which applicants to select. Use training and experience forms, ability tests, and performance tests. Develop promotion and sales campaigns using data from the sales forecast, recent sales, company-sponsored market surveys, and competitors’ promotion and sales practices.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities Needed

Knowledge of algebra Ability to use situational interviewing for selection of sales staff Ability to design a promotion campaign for each product for a six-month time period Skill in use of personal computer for word processing and development of mathematical tables for sales forecasting

2. Comprehension check.

Working in pairs, answer the questions.

1. What information must be collected to have full characteristics of job?

2. What does the abbreviation KSAs mean?

3. What must a good sales manager be proficient in?

4. What must a regional sales manager do to work out a sales forecast for each product item?

5. What does a regional sales manager need a sales forecast for?

6. In what way does a regional sales manager select applicants for sales positions?

Writing

You are going to be interviewed for the position of HR manager. To be well prepared, you need to make a table showing duties and KSAs that are required for this job.

UNIT 2

HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING:

forEcasting demand for employees

Reading

1. Read text 3 using your dictionary to help with new words. Think of the suitable title of the text.

TEXT 3

Human resource planning involves forecasting the organization’s future demand for employees, forecasting the future supply of employees within the organization, and designing programs to correct the discrepancy between the two. It serves the same purpose for human resource management as strategic planning does for other management activities. The purpose of human resource planning is to ensure that, in the future, the firm has enough employees with the appropriate skills so that it can accomplish its long-term goals.

The starting point of human resource planning is the organization’s strategic plans and goals. Let’s use a hypothetical example. Hubert Spotswood presently owns a successful jewellery store. Hubert has read that, because of the cost of building new homes, economic forecasters are predicting that individuals will choose to remodel their existing homes rather than buy new ones. He has therefore decided that in six years he wishes to be the largest jewellery and tool marketer in the area. His strategic plan is to open a large discount store, Jewels & Tools, which will carry watches and other jewellery as well as tools for household repair and maintenance. In addition, he wishes to have three upscale boutiques for each of the two product groups, to be called Pretty Things and Puttering Things.

He knows that implementing these plans will necessitate more employees with different skills than those he presently employs. Hubert does not have the time to handle all the details of the strategic plan, so he has hired Diana Taylor as a human resource manager. Diana, because she did well in her management courses, knows that she must start by drawing up a human resource plan that will be implemented over the next six years.

2. Comprehension check.

Working in pairs, answer the questions.

1. What is human resource planning?

2. Why is it important to predict the organization’s future demand for and supply of employees?

3. Why has Hubert Spotswood decided to reform his business?

4. What kind of business reorganization is Hubert Spotswood planning?

5. Why has he employed Diana Taylor?

6. Imagine that you are a HR manager. What information would you need before drawing up a human resource plan?

3. Read the text again. Find and write down a word or words in the text that mean the same as the following definitions. They are in the same order as they appear in the text.

making a statement about what is likely to happen, usually relating to the weather, business, or the economy	the amount of a product or service that people want, or the fact that they want it	quantity of something that is available to use
deciding how something will be made, including the way it will work, and often making drawings of it	a difference between things that should be the same	the aim that someone wants to achieve
g. to make certain that something happens or is done	h. to succeed in doing something	i. to legally have something, especially because you have bought it
someone whose job is to make a statement about what is likely to happen	to decide to do something	to change the structure or appearance of something
m. a person or company that buys and sells a particular product	n. a reduction in the price of something	o. to have goods for sale
p. work that is done to fix something that is broken or damaged	q. work that is done to keep something repaired and in good condition	r. the quality of services or goods that are designed for people who have a lot of money
doing something in a slow and enjoyable way	making something start to work and be used	to make something necessary
v. to pay someone to work for you (two words)	w. to take action to deal with a difficult situation	preparing and writing something such as a document or plan