Abstract
This study was conducted to analyze the competitiveness of a Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) based on employees’ professional development and diversification into different professions. The FSL is the sole Government Laboratory in Tanzania which serves the police force, judiciary system and the public prosecution. A sample of 88 current employees of different professions (53 chemists, 26 technologists and 9 accountants) was used. The data was collected from the year 2000 to 2015. Mathematical expressions were developed to quantifystagnation and total service time at specific development levels based on which new indices (professional development index, PDI; leadership competency index, LCI; and succession index, SI) were developed. The number of employees for support cadres was observed to increase faster in the last 5 years from 34.3% in 2009/2010 to 57.1% in 2014/2015, compared to chemists and technologists. The staff-to-line ratio (SLR) has been increasing since 2000, reaching above 0.8 from 2013 to 2015 indicating that the FSL was undergoing diversification and division of labor. The FSL workforce comprised of mainly semi-skilled employees. Promotions have played a big role in employees’ professional development. In some cases employees were promoted to higher level before 3 years stipulated by public service regulations, regarded as breach of procedures. However, high stagnation of employees at specific ranks was observed (up to 9 - 10 years) which causes frustrations, lost morale and engagement. Results indicated that most of the service years are served in ranks A and B. Indices developed in thisstudy form a baseline data for strategic analysis of FSL competitiveness in the future and allow for proper human resource planning. Highest values of LCI and PDI were observed for chemists. Technologists in the FSL show higher succession index compared to chemists and accountants. Employee diversification in the FSL has been increasing from 2003 to 2015. It was concluded that the FSL competitive advantage is continuously increasing.
Highlights
The government Chemist Laboratory Authority (GCLA), the sole Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Tanzania, is currently in a transition to change from an agency to an authority with increased powers and responsibilities
Mathematical expressions were developed to quantify stagnation and total service time at specific development levels based on which new indices were developed
From 2012 to 2015, the number of support cadre has increased from 45 to above 100. This is due to that fact as the FSL expands its services to reach the rest of the country, there is a high demand for support cadres to take care of finances, documentation and registry, human resources management, systems audit, procurement management, ICT facilities and networks, secretarial work, drivers, etc
Summary
The government Chemist Laboratory Authority (GCLA), the sole FSL in Tanzania, is currently in a transition to change from an agency to an authority with increased powers and responsibilities. There is high demand on human resource to undertake the changes and maintain its competitive edge This has forced the GCLA to scientifically assess the existing workforce structure and employee professional development plans [1] [2]. Organizational growth comes with hard cost increases, for instance, increase in minimum wages and extra duty payments adds to employer labor costs in both public and private sector. These hard cost increases put more pressure on the FSL’s bottom line which necessitated the assessment to determine if the FSL is staffed appropriately. This paper gives scientific methods developed for assessing the workforce expansion using forensic science laboratory as a case study
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
