Manpower is the total number of people who can work to get something done. For example, how quickly you clean your house after a party depends on how much manpower you have. The term can also mean “labor force,” “workforce,” “workers,” or simply “people”. Manpower applies to both men and women.
Manpower is important in managing an organization because the skills, knowledge, creativity, and flexibility of the personnel contribute directly to the competitiveness and high performance of the organization.
Manpower planning is the process of estimating the optimum number of people required for completing a project, task or a goal within time. It also involves placing the right employees in the right job at the right time. Manpower planning includes parameters like number of personnel, different types of skills, and time.
Types of manpower include:
- Apprentices and interns
- Commission and piece-rate workers
- Contract Labour
- Fixed-term employees
- Freelancers
- Full-time and Part-time employees