CHAPTER 13: Staff Planning at Cruise International, Inc. Go to Chapter 13 for the information.

5. Using Monita's current practice of replacements being hired every 3 months, develop an 18-month hiring plan, showing how many Floor Supervisors, Head Room Supervisors, Cabin Stewards/Stewardesses, and Assistant Cabin Stewards/Stewardesses need to be hired. (Learning Objective 4.3)

Supervisor is In this assignment you will help Monita Terazzi, the Head of Housekeeping, develop an 18-month aggregate staffing plan for the floor supervisors, the head room supervisors, cabin stewards/stewardesses, and assistant stewards/stewardesses. The plan should begin in January 2010. All of these employees sign an 18-month contract and are given a one month leave halfway through the contract. When a Floor on leave, one of the Head Room Supervisors serves as an interim Floor Supervisor. When Head Room Supervisors are away on leave, a senior Cabin Steward will serve as interim Head Room Supervisor. When Cabin Stewards are away on leave, an Assistant Cabin Steward will work as a regular Cabin Steward. Assistant Cabin Stewards are not replaced when they are on their one month leave. In general, crew members are eligible for promotion at the start of their next contract.

Currently new employees (with 18-month contracts) are added to the ship every three months. Ideally, the housekeeping work force should consist of 6 Floor Supervisors, 12 Head Room Supervisors, 36 Cabin Stewards/Stewardesses, and 20 Assistant Cabin Stewards/Stewardesses. This is the size crew needed when the ship is completely sold out. On cruises when there are fewer passengers, the crew members typically spend any time not needed to fulfill their duties preparing themselves for promotion to the next higher level. Monita is not sure if this is the best staffing approach or if there might be a better way to manage this group of workers. What issues do you think should influence the staffing process at CII? She knows that you studied aggregate planning and is interested in learning how what you studied can be used for her situation. Monita wants you to provide the planned hires needed for the next 18 months, including those to start in January 2010. She wants you to explain the relevant issues to be considered when developing the staffing plan.

The average cost to hire a new crew member is $1,200 since the cruise line provides transportation to the ship from the employee's hometown. The cost of terminating an employee early is estimated to be $2,000. The cost of terminating an employee at the end of his/her contract is $1,200, Typically the ship averages 92% cabin utilization throughout the year.