| Course | HRM-6100 Human Resources as a Strategic Partner |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Module 2 written assignment: planning, staffing and design of work systems |
| Length | About 701 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Thomas Edison State University |
| Program | Master of Science in Human Resources Management |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HRM 6100 Module 2
Opening Day in Four Months: Workforce Planning and Work Design for a New Costco Warehouse
Student Name
Master of Science in Human Resources Management, Thomas Edison State University
HRM-6100: Human Resources as a Strategic Partner
Mentor Name
Month Day, Year
Opening Day in Four Months: Workforce Planning and Work Design for a New Costco Warehouse
The Incident
For this assignment, consider an illustrative incident. Costco has approved a new warehouse in a growing suburban market, opening in four months. The regional office asks HR for a staffing plan: how many people are needed, where they will come from and how the work will be organized so that the warehouse runs efficiently from opening day. This paper answers that request using strategic HRM concepts and Costco's practices as described in public sources.
Forecasting Demand
Workforce planning begins with forecasting the number and types of employees the business will need, based on expected sales and the work required. A new warehouse's sales are projected from membership sign-ups in the area and the performance of similar warehouses. Costco's model, with a limited assortment and bulk packaging, needs fewer employees per dollar of sales than a conventional supermarket. Assuming a warehouse similar to others the company has opened, the plan below estimates about 250 employees.
| Department | Estimated headcount | Main source |
|---|---|---|
| Management team | 12 | Internal transfers and promotions |
| Front end: cashiers and assistants | 70 | External hiring with experienced transfers |
| Merchandising and stocking | 60 | External hiring |
| Receiving and forklift operations | 25 | Mix; certified operators transferred |
| Fresh foods: bakery, meat, deli, produce | 45 | Mix; experienced leads transferred |
| Membership, returns and services | 20 | External hiring |
| Optical, pharmacy, tire and food court | 18 | Licensed staff recruited externally |
Staffing Strategy
Costco is known for promoting from within; its chief executive since 2024, Ron Vachris, began his career driving a forklift at Price Club, which merged with Costco. A new warehouse supports this practice by creating promotions. The management team and department leads should be filled almost entirely by internal candidates from nearby warehouses, which places experienced people who know Costco's standards in every department and rewards employees in existing warehouses. Hourly roles should be filled through local hiring, with about a fifth filled by transfers who can train new hires.
External hiring should emphasize reliability and attitude over prior retail experience, since Costco trains for its own methods. Opening a warehouse also generates many applications because of the company's reputation for pay and benefits, so the challenge is selecting well among many candidates rather than attracting enough. Wright and McMahan (1992) describe a behavioral perspective in which HR practices exist to draw out the behaviors a strategy needs; promoting experienced Costco employees into the new warehouse draws out the standards the strategy depends on.
Designing the Work System
Work design determines how efficiently the staff can operate. Ton (2014) identified operational choices that let companies pay well and still keep costs low. Two apply directly. First, Costco's limited assortment simplifies work: fewer products mean simpler receiving, stocking and replenishment, so employees learn jobs faster. Second, cross-training lets employees move between tasks as demand shifts. A cashier can help stock the floor in a quiet hour, and a stocker can open a register at a rush, which means the warehouse needs fewer people than it would if every employee did a single task. Huselid (1995) tied high-performance work systems, which pair careful hiring with training and incentives, to lower turnover and higher output, and cross-training belongs in that kind of system.
Scheduling also matters. The new warehouse should schedule a core of full-time employees, which Costco favors, with part-time employees covering peak hours, and publish schedules well in advance. Predictable schedules support retention, which matters in the first year of a new warehouse when many hires are new to the company.
Risks
The main risk is opening with too many inexperienced employees at once. The plan addresses it by transferring experienced leads and staff, opening with a two-week training period before members arrive and pairing new hires with experienced employees in every department. A second risk is weakening existing warehouses by transferring too many experienced people, which the regional office can manage by spreading transfers across several warehouses.
Conclusion
Staffing a new Costco warehouse is a strategic task. Forecasting by department, filling leadership from within, hiring for attitude and designing cross-trained work allow about 250 people to run the warehouse efficiently from opening day, consistent with the strategy described in Module 1.
References
Huselid, M. A. (1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), 635-672. https://doi.org/10.5465/256741
Ton, Z. (2014). The good jobs strategy: How the smartest companies invest in employees to lower costs and boost profits. New Harvest.
Wright, P. M., & McMahan, G. C. (1992). Theoretical perspectives for strategic human resource management. Journal of Management, 18(2), 295-320. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639201800205
Reading the HRM 6100 Module 2 assignment instructions
The second HRM-6100 written assignment covers planning, staffing and the design of work systems for the company you selected. Expect an incident or question that asks you to forecast staffing needs, choose between internal and external sources, and explain how job design and scheduling support the company's strategy. The course objectives connect staffing and work design to strategy, so explain the reasoning, not only the steps. Research the company's actual practices in its annual report, research articles and credible press, and present a plan an operating manager could use, cited in APA style. If the incident is a new location, a reorganization or a sudden change in demand, start by estimating how many people with which skills are needed and when. Expect to justify the mix of internal and external sources.
How this HRM 6100 Module 2 example is built
The paper restates the incident and the request. A forecasting section explains the approach and presents a headcount table by department with sources. A staffing strategy section applies the company's promotion-from-within practice and explains selection for external hires. A work design section uses research on good jobs and high-performance work systems to explain cross-training and scheduling. A risks section identifies two dangers and how the plan manages them. The paper ties each decision back to the strategy analyzed in Module 1. The headcount table shows each department's size and source, so the staffing strategy is visible at a glance.
HRM 6100 Module 2 rubric: what earns full marks
Mentors weigh how well the analysis is reasoned, correct use of planning and staffing concepts, application to the company with research, and clear writing. A forecast with a stated basis, a staffing strategy that reflects the company's practices and a work design explained through strategy show integration. Recognizing risks and responses adds credit. Because the assignments build toward the final project, attention to the five functions selected in Module 1 helps. Every fact about Costco should come from its filings or a reliable, cited source. Mentors also credit answers that connect work design to the company's operational choices, such as a limited assortment or cross-training, since this shows how HR and operations fit together. Identifying risks in the plan and how to manage them demonstrates practical judgment.
HRM 6100 Module 2 help from the desk
Students lose points by giving a headcount without explaining how it was estimated, by ignoring the company's known practices or by treating work design as job descriptions only. Others write a generic staffing plan that could apply to any company. State your forecasting assumptions. Use what is public about the company's practices. Explain how job design affects efficiency and retention. Identify risks. A free first sample using your own HRM-6100 company is available on request. Avoid a generic hiring plan. Use what the company is known for, such as promotion from within, and explain how the plan reinforces it. Show how schedules and job design affect retention as well as efficiency.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Thomas Edison State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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HRM 6100 Module 2 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HRM 6100 Module 2 sample paper?
The complete Module 2 paper on staffing a new Costco warehouse is above, with a headcount forecast, staffing strategy and work design.
What is workforce planning?
Forecasting the number and kinds of employees an organization will need and planning how to supply them from inside or outside.
Does Costco promote from within?
Yes, Costco is known for promoting from within, and its chief executive since 2024 began as a forklift driver at Price Club.
How does cross-training help a business?
It lets employees move between tasks as demand changes, so a smaller staff can cover busy periods efficiently.
What is a high-performance work system?
A combination of practices, such as selective hiring, training and incentives, associated with lower turnover and higher productivity.