(From Business Standard) Can online, real-time engines ensure rapid but temporary manpower provisioning for today's uncertain times?

Downsizing. Right-sizing. Up-sizing. Human capital planning swings between these three points, without ever finding a balance at any point of time. It is amongst the most challenging and demanding business problems of our times. In his book, Talent on Demand, Peter Cappelli, professor of management, Wharton School, argues for using the principles of supply chain management, suggesting that the fundamentals of just-in-time manufacturing can be applied to talent management.

In other words, talent management could boil down to a few basic questions: When do we need a particular talent or skill set? Where do we find it? For how long will we need it? Will the talent arrive just in time to manage the requirements? What is the right price for the talent?

It does sound like asking for the parts of a product, but that is exactly what it is: A solution to manpower provisioning meant for today's uncertain times where managers find it impossible to forecast their business needs and their requirements for specific talent and skills.

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