Question

In this question you will discuss importance of appropriate allocation.

Numerous allocations are made within a business each day, some small and some large. Discuss an allocation decision in the business world that you have encountered and the results of the allocation, if you know them. If you do not have personal business experience with an allocation, research an allocation for a company and share the link and discuss the allocation.

Answer 1

I will describe a Manpower allocation decision in a Renewable energy company, where I have worked.

The company was involved in the execution of Renewable energy projects. The execution of the projects required a variety of engineers like Civil engineers, Electrical engineers, Mechanical engineers at project sites. Generally, the company used to execute 2-3 projects simultaneously at any point in time. The company's pool of engineers was sufficient to cater to the requirements of 2-3 projects. Engineers were generally allocated to one project and were shifted to another project only when the first project was completed.

Once it happened that the company suddenly got 6 new projects at the same time. These projects had to be started within a month's time and the finish times of the projects were also close to each other. The current manpower allocation model of keeping an engineer involved in a project until the end was not possible now. The company did not want to hire more engineers as the project values were on the lower side and cost reduction was required. Also, the manpower hiring process would have required at least 4 - 6 weeks, which was not possible due to the stringent timelines of the projects.

After a lot of discussions and brainstorming sessions, the top management of the company decided to implement a dynamic manpower allocation model for the execution of the 6 new projects. Under this model, detailed project schedules were prepared for each project. The weekly manpower requirement of each project was calculated. It was seen that in some weeks, the manpower requirement in a few projects was very high and in some other weeks the manpower requirement was low. To implement the model, all the engineers were initially allocated to various projects. At the end of each week, the manpower requirement for each project for the next week was analyzed. Engineers were shifted to a different project if the manpower requirement for that project was high. For example, A Mechanical Engineer who was initially allocated to Project 1 could be shifted to Project 2 after 2 weeks. Then after 3 weeks in Project 2, he could be shifted to Project 4, and so on.

The implementation of the new allocation model was tough. It took a lot of effort to monitor the 6 projects in detail, and identify when and where manpower had to be shifted. The engineers also found it difficult in the first few weeks, however with good planning and smooth handover of work, the process became streamlined. Soon, the work progress of all projects increased, and monitoring became easier.

The company was able to successfully implement the dynamic manpower allocation model, and all the 6 projects were completed within the time limits, with the limited manpower. It was then unanimously decided by the company's top management to follow the same model whenever the number of projects increased.