Professional and Scientific Staff Management: Temporary Staffing Agency

How PSSM works

Professional and Scientific Staff Management

Professional and Scientific Staff Management (PSSM) is a unique type of temporary staffing agency. Many organizations today hire highly skilled technical employees on a short-term, temporary basis to assist with special projects or to provide a needed technical skill. PSSM negotiates contracts with its client companies in which it agrees to provide temporary staff in specific job categories for a specified cost. For example, PSSM has a contract with an oil and gas exploration company in which it agrees to supply geologists with at least a master’s degree for $5,000 per week. PSSM has contracts with a wide range of companies and can place almost any type of professional or scientific staff members, from computer programmers to geologists to astrophysicists.

When a PSSM client company determines that it will need a temporary professional or scientific employee, it issues a staffing request against the con- tract it had previously negotiated with PSSM. When PSSM’s contract manager receives a staffing request, the contract number referenced on the staffing request is entered into the contract database. Using information from the database, the contract manager reviews the terms and conditions of the contract and deter- mines whether the staffing request is valid. The staffing request is valid if the contract has not expired, the type of professional or scientific employee requested is listed on the original contract, and the requested fee falls within the negotiated fee range. If the staffing request is not valid, the contract manager sends the staffing request back to the client with a letter stating why the staffing request cannot be filled, and a copy of the letter is filed. If the staffing request is valid, the contract manager enters the staffing request into the staffing request database as an outstanding staffing request. The staffing request is then sent to the PSSM placement department.

In the placement department, the type of staff member, experience, and qualifications requested on the staffing request are checked against the database of available professional and scientific staff. If a qualified individual is found, he or she is marked “reserved” in the staff database. If a qualified individual cannot be found in the database or is not immediately available, the placement department creates a memo that explains the inability to meet the staffing request, and attaches it to the staffing request. All staffing requests are then sent to the arrangements department.

In the arrangements department, the prospective temporary employee is contacted and asked to agree to the placement. After the placement details have been worked out and agreed to, the staff member is marked “placed” in the staff database. A copy of the staffing request and a bill for the placement fee is sent to the client. Finally, the staffing request, the “unable-to-fill” memo (if any), and a copy of the placement fee bill is sent to the contract manager. If the staffing request was filled, the contract manager closes the open staffing request in the staffing request database. If the staffing request could not be filled, the client is notified. The staffing request, placement fee bill, and unable-to-fill memo are then filed in the contract office.

1. Develop a questionnaire that will help gather information regarding processes at a PSSM cafeteria (e.g., staffing request, customer service). Give the questionnaire to ten to fifteen students, analyze the responses, and write a brief report that describes the results. [10 Marks]

2. Create a set of activity diagrams for the business processes described here.

3. Create a use-case diagram for the system described here.

4. Develop a use-case description for each major use case.

5. Create sequence diagram for each use case

Part II

A Video Store (AVS) runs a series of fairly standard video stores. Before a video can be put on the shelf, it must be cataloged and entered into the video database. Every customer must have a valid AVS customer card in order to rent a video. Customers rent videos for three days at a time. Every time a customer rents a video, the system must ensure that he or she does not have any overdue videos. If so, the overdue videos must be returned and an overdue fee paid before the customer can rent more videos. Likewise, if the customer has returned overdue videos but has not paid the overdue fee, the fee must be paid before new videos can be rented. Every morning, the store manager prints a report that lists overdue videos. If a video is two or more days overdue, the manager calls the customer to remind him or her to return the video. If a video is returned in damaged condition, the manager removes it from the video database and may sometimes charge the customer.

1. Design a class diagram for the above scenario.

2. Design an object diagram for the above scenario.

 The questionnaires are used for gathering information regarding various processes at PSSM cafeteria by analyzing the responses of the students. It is analyzed that according to the response of the students PSSM helps in negotiating various types of contract with various companies for providing temporary staff facility in some particular job categories. The students strongly agree with the condition that PSSM client companies assist in examining the requirement of temporary people. It is determined that some student strongly agrees with the statement that the contract manager helps in finding the validity of the staffing request by analyzing the terms as well as conditions of the contract but some students disagrees with it. Either the responses are neutral in context to the statement, which demonstrates that staffing request is valid when the contract is unexpired or the request falls under the negotiated fee range.  The statement that elaborates that the manager sends staffing request back to the client is considered neutral by the student.  The responses suggest that the manager enters the staffing request to the database of the organization if it is considered valid by them.  The student totally agrees that the placement department as sits in checking the type, experience as well as qualification of the employees. The responses that are collected after the analysis  helps in reflecting that the placement department does not creates memo if the staffs are not present. It is analyzed that the responses elaborate that the arrangement department can help in contracting with temporary employees or they cannot. The student agrees that if placement detail matches with the qualification then the employees will be marked placed in the organization.