The human resource management department plays an important role in any organization. The way of how the work of managers is organized defines the level of other people’s work in the same organization. In the report that is going to be presented, the theme of human resource managers and their intentions to improve their abilities in the sphere of military services is evaluated. Its title is “Optimization of the Core Activities of Military Human Resource Professionals to the Same Level as the Department of Defense (DOD) Civilian Counter Partners”. The scope of this report is rather limited as there is no burning necessity to introduce several general types of research.
The main task is to identify the requirements for the process of optimization of some managers’ activities and skills and their improvement to the level demonstrated by DOD civilian counter partners. To succeed in this report, it is necessary to evaluate the level of HR managers’ competence, identify possible difficulties in the sphere of HR, and introduce several contributions that may considerably improve the work of military HR managers.
Military optimization is always in demand, and it is crucially important to understand the basics under which this process is possible and to promote appropriate cooperation between the departments which are responsible for the development of the organization, in this report, they are DOD civilian partners and HR managers
Abstract
The evaluation of the human resource management department is an important step that has to be taken to improve the services offered by the military industry. These papers aim at discussing the process of activities’ optimization that is possible in the military human resource department. The vast majority of professionals from the HR department seek to improve their skills and possibilities to the level demonstrated by the representatives from the Department of Defense.
Still, there is a need for some appropriate training programs and theoretical backgrounds to start the process of optimization and evaluate the demands of the civilian as well as military managers. The competence of the workers has to be analyzed from various perspectives to comprehend what type of training programs may be applied regarding the chosen community. The example of Army Human Resources Command improvements in Fort Knox helps to define the necessity of the process of optimization and the more appropriate methods. Cooperation between the military departments is regarded as the activity that may successfully influence the process of optimization.
Introduction
The importance of human resource management (HRM) department is evident in almost any sphere of life, and the military industry integrated HRM into a kind of policy that aims at describing the functions of each member of a separate team. US military human resource management is considered to be one of the major components of operations that are performed by the military representatives.
Several challenges appear during these activities, still, the managers try to evaluate each situation separately and suggest an appropriate solution to a problem. Nowadays, HR professionals have to possess appropriate skills and knowledge to meet any kind of challenge and manage the offered program accordingly. However, the level of military HR managers’ knowledge is not as high and professional as the one demonstrated by the Department of Defense (DOD) civilian counter partners. This is why the activities of military managers have to be optimized to the necessary level using various methods, training programs, and evaluations of the outcomes of the demonstrated activities.
The main purpose of the report is to prove that the process of optimization is a successful and appropriate decision to be made by the representatives of the HRM department and to identify the means which may be applied to the chosen process. Still, to achieve the purpose set, it is crucially important to comprehend whether the managers are ready to improve their skills, which requirements have to be met, and what programs may optimize managers’ core activities.
This is why the major problem of the report is to analyze the conditions under which military departments have to work and promote the same access to services and programs which may influence each manager’s competence and his/her suggestions in a particular sphere.
This report covers four main topics: what we know about the military HRM department, what we know about the activities performed by the military HR managers, their weak and strong points, how the core activities of military HR professionals differ from those of DOD managers, and which programs may be taken into consideration to optimize HR managers’ activities and competence to the level of the DOD representatives.
Statement of Problem
To comprehend how the process of optimization may improve the activities of military HR professionals, it is necessary to define the essence of this department and the purposes its managers try to achieve. The evaluation of the services is considered to be a powerful means to define positive and negative aspects of military services offered.
Military HRM department and its peculiarities
In general, military HR managers are responsible for an appropriate organization of military workers using planning, directing, and organizing the procedures which are crucial in administration. Among the variety of functions which have to be performed by HR managers, it is possible to underline the following: “to form strong partnerships with the community managers because they share many of the same objectives” and “maintain the information systems and develop workload and inventory projections models” (Emmerichs et al. 27).
The point is that current technologies that tend to be developed and the requirements for military managers make the vast majority of military people take care of constant improvements and perfection of their services.
As a rule, these services may be improved by special technical training, military education programs, and other educational opportunities that have to be at the governmental expense. Human resource managers admit that opportunities offered to DOD professionals differ considerably from those offered to the military HR managers, this is why the latter are deprived of the opportunities to develop appropriate skills and knowledge and get the necessary experience in time. So, it is important to “forecast human resource needs so far into the future that there is never a lack of competencies or skills to meet the Nation’s needs” (Phillips 5) and optimize the need and skills to the level defined by the DOD representatives.
DOD civilian professionals
The United States Department of Defense aims at coordinating and administrating the organizations which have a connection to the national security of the country and special armed forces. More than 700,000 civilians are employed and provided with various opportunities to use and improve their knowledge, skills, and ideas to defend the nation and meet the interests of society. This kind of training needs assessment (U.S. Office of Personnel Management) should help to define the existed gap and think about possible improvements. The fact is that DOD activities are supported by the government annually, and the financial assistance promotes the use of appropriate training programs by which DOD managers can complete their mission and protect the security of the country.
Several departments cooperate accordingly so that each military member and DOD civilian is aware of the chosen policy and requirements to be met. They can participate in activities with the help of which their skills and understanding of the matter are improved. During some period, DOD managers can get necessary theoretical backgrounds in comparison to military HR managers who are still deprived of such opportunities. With the help of various simulations and educative programs, DOD civilians define their weaknesses and start working on them as well as their strengths and try to make use of them. To succeed in providing appropriate military services, HR managers have to use the same opportunities and optimize their activities to the same level.
The essence of optimization
The essence of optimization is simple indeed: there is a system within an organization that undergoes considerable challenges and threats, and there is a process that is called optimization with the help of which the chosen system becomes more effective and functional from various perspectives. The point is that optimization is a complex process, and several steps have to be taken as well as many items should be considered before the process is applied.
It is wrong to improve one particular sphere because the outcomes of optimizations could hardly be called positive. This is why optimization should touch upon all aspects of the workforce and predict the challenges and ways out of the situation. The necessity of workforce study (U.S. Office of Personnel Management) is obvious as it should help to realize how the process of optimization may be applied to a separate group of people.
Optimization in military services
American military services are considered to be an important aspect of the United States of America. The military environment changes constantly, and military workers have to be adapted to the conditions set. However, not each military department has an appropriate number of opportunities to provide managers with knowledge and experience. This is why the process of optimization in military services is required from time to time.
In this report, the core activities of military Human Resource managers need to be optimized to the same level as the Department of Defense civilian professionals are now. The optimization of the chosen department is predetermined for several reasons. First, the HRM department as well as DOD is responsible for appropriate stimulation and evaluation of military services. Failures or mistakes done by the department may influence the development of other departments’ work.
Secondly, DOD is the department that aims at analyzing the barriers which are possible in employment, and DOD civilian counter partners can solve problems, eliminate discontents, and introduce effective ideas, and the representatives from the military HRM department, in their turn, are eager to get the chance to improve their skills in the same activities. Finally, noticeable technological progress influences considerably the development of different military departments, and the activities of HR managers have to be improved by technological achievements.
A not long time ago, the implementation of the Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System (DIHMRS) was directed to provide one common effective system for all military departments (see Figure 1). It is known that the Department of Defense has already undergone a considerable amount of challenges and long-standing problems as a result of which the activities of DOD civilian counter partners have been improved a lot (Robert 55).
Now, the representatives from the military Human Resource department find it obligatory to optimize their activities to the highest level and get access to the opportunities which are available for DOD managers.
Proposed Solution
Evaluation of the conditions
Optimization of the core activities of military HR managers depends on several factors of the military workforce. One of the most important elements that have to be considered during the optimization is the backgrounds that are observed among the managers. The backgrounds of human resource managers are developed the way people can integrate decisions concerning employment relations which determine the level of work demonstrated by employees.
As the military HRM department performs a leading role in the vast majority of the Army’s operations, it is necessary to mind the outside improvements and be improved as well. Current challenges make the managers decide quickly on various force structure requirements and well-being programs to meet the challenges and integrate the existed systems. Still, poor abilities and experience deprive HR managers succeed in the chosen activities and evaluate the achievements which the representatives from DOD civilian department introduce.
DOD, in its turn, tries to cooperate with different departments and improve the skills of managers in a variety of ways: work with the Army or Navy helps to identify the weaknesses of military work and make use of privileges offered to DOD civilian counter partners. The process of optimization should also touch upon the idea of workers’ competence. Some researchers admit that it is difficult to predict competence as it tends to develop with age, and each person is characterized by his/her level of development (McClelland 10).
In the military sphere, competence is defined as “an observable, measurable set of skills, knowledge, abilities, behaviors, and other characteristics an individual needs to successfully perform work roles or occupational functions” (U.S. Office of Personnel Management). As competency is the quality that may ensure a person to make some strategic decisions (McClelland 3), it has to be taken into consideration before the process of optimization begins. All those so-called “optimization” should evaluate the competence gap first, and then start suggesting some innovations and improvements be taken by military HR managers.
Technical Perspective
Optimization of the core activities is the process that has to be based on the already implemented and tested ideas. In this report, it is possible to address the activities of the Army Human Resources Command (Masi et al. 1) and its relocation to Fort Knox, Kentucky. During this project, three integral steps have been taken: the identification of personnel competencies which helped to define the required improvements, evaluation of the gaps which exist between competency requirements and obligatory abilities, and development of appropriate concepts to improve the activities.
In the process of current optimization of the core activities of military HR managers, the two above-mentioned stages have been passed successfully, and now, it is time to identify the training programs and concepts which may support the process under analysis. Optimization of activities may be organized under indoor conditions where such helpful attributes as working with other managers, support of public speaking, and improvement of organizational skills are observed. The optimization should begin with the courses during which HR managers can improve their knowledge in community relations practices or some interviewing techniques which may influence the development of personnel records management.
Taking into consideration the current conditions under which HR managers have to work, they insist on the idea to optimize their activities. They realize that their skills and possibilities may be improved considerably. In Figure 2, it is possible to observe the competency diagram for a senior-level human resource specialist and understand what qualities are in demand for military services.
To train a better future and current military HR managers, it is possible to make use of technological progress that is widely spread nowadays. Managers may use the programs which promote the importance of theoretical knowledge in particular situations. Such programs are of stimulation type with the help of which specific conditions are developed, and future managers may introduce various solutions to the problems or challenges.
Such programs turn out to be a considerable part of the optimization of managers’ activities in the military sphere. The use of computers by the managers is considered to be an integral part of their work, this is why it is better to train them and provide a variety of online courses which may certainly improve their understanding of the matter and military services.
Scope
The optimization of managers’ activities has to be framed accordingly
The success of activities’ optimization depends on how successfully the frames of the process are identified. It is impossible to take into account all aspects of managers’ activities and optimize them within a short period. Still, it is possible and, what is more important, effective to select several aspects and pay certain attention to particular spheres. As the main task is to optimize the activities from one level to another level, it is better to define clearly the levels of optimizations which are military HR professionals and DOD civilian counter partners. These levels have to be regarded as a considerable part of military services.
HR managers are characterized by special traits and abilities; this is why it is necessary to identify what skills they have to possess to introduce appropriate work. And, finally, the process of optimization has to take place on a particular level that is appropriate for all managers and other people who may be involved in the process. The idea to use public speaking as a means of optimization seems to be good indeed.
Areas took into consideration in this study
Military HRM differs considerably from the one of civilian HR. The investigations show that:
“Civilian personnel will be used in positions which do not require military incumbents for reasons, law, training, security, discipline, rotation, or combat readiness, which do not require a military background for the successful performance of the duties involved, and which do not entail unusual hours not normally associated or compatible with civilian employment.” (Phillips 2)
It is necessary to consider these diversities of activities and possibilities to introduce successful optimization. Competency of HR managers is not of the same level as the competency of DOD civilian managers, this is why attention to a competency that identifies the “levels of proficiency depending on the specific work role or occupational function” (U.S. Office of Personnel Management) has to be paid. The level of responsibility also differs between the departments, and the managers should identify their functions and duties accordingly.
The evaluation of the human resource industry proves that several changes take place within this industry. HR processes and personal try to find out as many ways to improve their activities as possible. Some representatives identify the need for special strategic approaches to meet managers’ performances and the objectives set by a corporation. So, optimization should consider the qualities obligatory for managers such as abilities to organize, promote, and explain.
Managers should understand that their activities may be optimized only in case they re-evaluate their knowledge and possibilities and identify what improvements are available for them. Finally, they should consider the fact that the process of optimization may influence the military sphere and promote several changes within different departments that have to be informed.
In this case, the idea of public speaking helps to organize the process. Attention to the details, evaluation of the situation and the demands of the audience, and focus on the conditions under which optimization may be developed are the three keys of a successful speaker.
People have to be informed about the coming optimization: they should comprehend what improvements are the most appropriate in their work, they should introduce personal ideas regarding their activities, and they have to comprehend the peculiarities of the level they try to optimize their activities too. Optimization of military human resource management department touches upon long- and short-term goals, this is why “prioritized retention strategies, national searches, and targeted recruiting” (Masi et al. xiv) should be considered as the main approaches of optimization.
Research Methods
Qualitative method: literature evaluation
As it has been already mentioned, the process of optimization of managers’ activities has to be based on some examples, and it seems to be helpful to rely on the experienced gained before. The evaluation of some literary sources shows that there were many cases when managers’ activities had to be optimized under some special conditions.
The decision to relocate the Army’s Human Resource Command (HRC) led to several challenges which have to be overcome and optimization of employers’ activities to meet the following purposes: “adept at handling Army personnel matters to move” and “replace those highly skilled incumbents who do not make the move” (Masi et al. 1). In this situation, it was important to improve HRM eligibility for employment and formulate a workforce that could meet the standards of the organization and consider the demands of managers.
Military optimization was based on several mathematical methods as an integral part of qualitative analysis. The main purpose of the process was to improve the workforce competency and pick out an appropriate level of proficiency that may formally and coherently connect the activities of different departments on one particular basis. Taking into consideration the achievements which have been already identified, the analysis of the process when core activities of military human resource managers are optimized may be developed.
The process may be organized in three integral steps: identification of the fact that optimization is urgent and activities that have to be changed, progressive optimization that is taken at different levels, and adaptation to the conditions which have been created.
Quantitative method: managers’ opinions
Finally, to complete the process of optimization, it is obligatory to consider the attitude of managers and the experience gained. As a rule, it is not very easy to comprehend how optimization may change working conditions, still, these changes are evident and cannot be neglected. The results of optimization are promising but require more evaluation and reorganization.
First, military human resource managers get access to new activities and working methods that may lead to improvements in goals and plans set. Secondly, the Department of Defense civilian counter partners prove that their methods and achievements are recognizable, and they have all chances to introduce new levels so that other departments may strive to achieve. And finally, the environment under which military and civilian managers have to work change considerably from time to time, and the departments have to be ready to accept new conditions and evaluate their skills, knowledge, and functions accordingly.
Discussion of new ideas, possible trends, and effective developments has to become a constant affair with the help of which managers will be able to improve their activities and create appropriate levels of proficiency and competence. There is no need to take some cardinal steps and require for activities’ optimization constantly, still, it is necessary to identify the needs of society and employers in time.
Conclusion
The process of military optimization is complex indeed, and several preparatory steps are required. Civilian and military managers are the members of the team that is responsible for appropriate and effective services offered to people who are engaged in military life. It happens that some departments need optimization that could promote the knowledge, skills, and experiences of the members to the required level.
In this report, the analysis of how and why optimization of core activities of military HR managers to the same level DOD civilian counter partners have may be organized. HRM is the department that takes care of numerous organizational operations as well as the effectiveness of the work of each member. To succeed in the process of optimization, it was necessary to elaborate on various perspectives and approaches to comprehend what conditions were the most appropriate and what departments may be involved in improvements as it is wrong to optimize the activities of one group of people and neglect the possibility of improvements for another group of people.
Cooperation between the departments, attention to managers’ competency and abilities, and evaluation of the purposes which are set are the key elements of optimization under discussion. The civilian Department of Defense proves that it is always possible to become an example for other departments; and the military human resource department shows how it is possible to set particular goals and achieve them gradually.
Works Cited
Emmerichs, Robert, Marcum, and Cheryl, Robbert, Albert. An Executive Perspective on Workforce Planning. Santa Monica, CA: 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. Pennsylvania: U.S Army War College, 2003. Print.
Robert, Albert, Keltner, Brent, Reynolds, Kenneth, Spranca, Mark, and Benjamin, Beth. Differentiation in Military Human Resource Management. Santa Monica, CA: Rand Corporation, 1997. Print.
“U.S. Office of Personnel Management”. HCAAF Resource Center. n.d. Web.