Reference no: EM132271338

1. Explain why workforce scheduling technology is particularly suitable to large organisations.

2. Explain how organisations can use operations planning to achieve their organisational objectives.

Using Workforce Scheduling to Lower Labour Costs

As a consequence of the credit crunch and the downturn in many economies, companies are finding it increasingly difficult to increase prices to consumers. This is a problem as many firms are experiencing increased costs in resources such as raw materials and energy. However, in the USA businesses have been able to demand that fewer employees do more work for less pay. Industrial output has continued to increase, even as employers have laid off workers. Companies, including retail giant Wal-Mart, are using new flexible scheduling technology to ensure fewer employees work at times when store customer traffic is low. Accordingly, labour costs, which account for about 70% of US corporate costs, have so far remained in check, in stark contrast to escalating wage inflation in countries such as Vietnam and China.