Introduction
The sphere of human resource management undergoes considerable changes all the time. Various changes usually take place because of constantly changing environment and the demands which are required from different people. Each sphere of life has its own organizations, and the HR management has to correspond to the requirements set. In this report, a considerable portion of attention is paid to American military services and its two different departments which are military HR professionals and the Department of Defense (DOD) representatives. In fact, DOD “has long been committed to helping military spouses pursue rewarding careers and removing barriers to employment” (Gates 197), this is why the role of the chosen department is integral indeed, and the conditions under which its representatives have to work should be considered.
Another department considered is based on human resource management and promotes obligatory motivation and creativity to define and implement a number of policies which may “effectively close the gap between the characteristics the organization will need and those the workforce is likely to possess” (Emmerichs et al. 27). Still, the researches show that the achievements demonstrated by the representatives of the HR and DOD achieve various goals and make use of various methods, and the success of the DOD representatives is evident (Philips 12). This is why it is crucially important to understand the reasons of why similar in necessity departments of military services have different rates and what has to be done to change the results and promote the success of both departments.
Statement of Problem
One of the most evident problems in military services is that different departments have access to different services and training programs. In case DOD members are able to get necessary backgrounds, the members of HR management department cannot get the same. This is why the idea of optimization the core activities of military HR managers to the same level as the DOD mangers have appears. “Current personnel at the new HRC will also be critical to assisting new hires in learning their jobs and growing into the new workforce over the long term” (Masi et al. 60).
Certain attention has to be paid to the HRC knowledge competency that is extremely important for human resource specialists and department of defense representatives. To comprehend better how competency should be evaluated, it is possible to admit its definition in the glossary of U.S. Office of Personnel Management where it is explained as “an observable, measurable set of skills, knowledge, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics an individual needs to successfully perform work roles or occupational functions” (HCAAF Resource Center).
In other words, there are two crucial implementations of the optimization problem: first, in face of raising the demands in military service departments, all members have to be trained in accordance with the demands expected; and second, the idea of competence has to be considered (McClelland 8) as each professional has his/her own approaches, thoughts, and suggestions on how the chosen sphere may be improved, and personal experience of managers influences the way of how the military sphere may be developed and improved.
Proposed Solution
To succeed in optimizing the core activities of HR and DOD managers, it is obligatory to define several aspects of their work. First, it is necessary to focus on competency requirements which may be used in the chosen services (Masi et al. iiI) and define the gaps which take place from qualitative and quantitative perspectives. HRC managers should have competencies of different levels during the shortest period of time and the long terms which can be predicted. Another point that has to be considered is the backgrounds which are available for HR managers and DOD managers.
To demonstrate success in activities, it is necessary to have successful and powerful backgrounds; this is why the promotion of programs and trainings which aim at disclosing the idea of management are required as well. HR managers should try to find themselves in various civilian roles in order to understand what may be required from them. The output of military services should be optimized in accordance with a plan that is synchronized by the leaders of HR management department and DOD department.
Scope
The process of optimization core activities of HR professionals has to be developed within the frames which are clearly identified. There is no need to conduct too general research to get as many possibilities for optimization as possible. It seems to be more important to define what kind of knowledge is required and what type of competency has to be achieved. There are several areas which have to be taken into account in the chosen study: (1) competency of HR managers which are going to improve their skills to the level demonstrated by DOD managers; (2) difficulties because of lack of responsibility at the chosen positions; and (3) contributions of army personnel to the optimizing activities. The idea of management optimization required more attempts to improve near- and long-term approaches such as “prioritized retention strategies, national searches, and targeted recruiting” (Masi et al. xiv). With the scope identified, it becomes easier to realize the forecasts for optimizing activities as well as the methods which are more appropriate in the case under analysis.
Methods
One of the possible methods which may be applied to optimize the activities of HR members is to reorganize these activities to those offered by Fort Knox, Kentucky. The researches by Masi and the team prove that “HRC is likely to lose a significant share of its experience staff in the process of moving to Fort Knox, and their knowledge and experience will have to be replaced” (xiii). This is why the chosen method has to be improved by means of constant changes connected with managers’ competencies which should be different at different levels of proficiency (HCAAF Resource Center).
In fact, there are not many studies which may predict competence and other factors of control, and it is possible to assert the ideas on how to measure competence and how to optimize activities. The use of primary and secondary sources is supports. Primary sources help to identify the challenges set for the HR managers and evaluate the benefits available for DOD professionals. And secondary sources, which include publications and analysis of the already done activities, will be utilized to understand the outcomes achieved.
Conclusion
Military optimization is not an easy process that has to be applied from time to time to promote civilians and military professionals with appropriate knowledge, services, and protection. This is why this kind of process has to be implemented in each department accordingly to take into consideration all pros and cons, backgrounds, and competencies of the managers. In this paper, the human resource management department is analyzed. HRM is one of the most significant components in military services that may influence the effectiveness of the employers’ work as well as organizational operations. The main task in the chosen study is to optimize the work of HRM department to the same level of DOD professionals who demonstrate sufficient understanding of the matter and are ready to accommodate to any conditions with any managers.
This is why the main purposes of this study is to choose the most appropriate methods and consider the strategies which can be applied. Clear actions are in demand and improvements in human resource management department are to be offered. People have to get an access to the training programs in order to enlarge their level of knowledge in different sphere, gain necessary skills to promote successful management of activities, and consideration of current affairs and changes should be admitted. In general, the transition from one position to another is not always appropriate, but if some managers find it extremely important, it should be supported on higher levels and promoted accordingly.
Still, such kind of promotion should be elaborated from different perspectives: on the one hand, HR managers should take as many steps as possible to achieve the necessary level of competency, and on the other hand, DOD department should provide HR managers with a number of opportunities to comprehend the essence of the chosen position and the requirements which have to be met. Only in case of mutual cooperation between the departments, the process of optimization will be successful, and human resource professionals could achieve the levels gained by the representatives of the Department of Defense.
Works Cited
Emmerichs, Robert. Understanding the New US Defense Policy Through the Speechless of Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense. Rockville, Maryland: MANOR, 2008. Print.
Gates, Robert, Marcum, Cheryl, and Robbert, Albert. An Executive Perspective on Workforce Planning. Pittsburg, PA: RAND Corporation, 2004. Print.
Masi, Ralph, Wong, Anny, Boon, John, Schrimer, Peter, and Sollinger, Jerry. Supporting the U.S. Army HR Command’s Human Capital Strategic Planning. Pittsburg, PA: RAND Corporation, 2009. Print.
McClelland, David. “Testing for Competence Rather than for Intelligence”, American Psychologist 28 (1973): 1-14. Print.
Philips, Lorraine. Civilian Human Resource Transformation. Pennyslvania: U.S Army War College, 2003. Print.
“U.S. Office of Personnel Management”. HCAAF Resource Center. n.d. Web.