Bracing Competition through Innovative HRM in Indian Firms: Lessons for MNEs

HRM plays a critical role and constructive role. How important is the involvement of HRM in strategy development and implementation under hyper-competitive environment? HRM occurs at all levels of organizations and increasingly, outside organizations as organizations manage relationships with external stakeholders. This article shows how innovative HRM practices are being adopted by Indian firms to brace competition in the post liberalization scenario. The article discusses the need for new skills, new policies and innovative HRM practices.HRM; Innovation; India

Fuzzy system dynamics and optimization with application to manpower systems

The dynamics of human resource recruitment and training in an uncertain environment creates a challenge for many policy makers in various organisations. In the presence of fuzzy manpower demand and training capacity, many companies fear losing critical human resources when their employees leave. As such, the development of effective dynamic policies for recruitment and training in a fuzzy dynamic environment is imperative

Managing the civil service : what LDCs can learn from developed country reforms

The author examines current civil service management (CSM) practices in advanced countries to provide guidance for developing country governments that face the dilemma of how to recruit, retain, and motivate appropriately skilled staff at affordable costs, given a limited human resource base. Advanced country administrations are following two distinct paths to improving CSM. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, are engaged insweeping"managerialist"reforms to decentralize civil service functions and make them more responsive to the client public. By introducing complex financial reporting systems, managers have increased autonomy; some functions are spun off into semi-autonomous agencies operating on an increasingly commercial basis. By contrast, other industrialized countries, such as Singapore, have retained more traditional, largely centralized civil service structures, pursuing only incremental improvements in specific aspects of CSM. The author speculates about what is likely to work best in developing country administrations: Centralized civil service management models provide the best starting point for most developing countries because decentralized agency systems require technological and human resources beyond their capabilities. Some better-endowed countries could use certain agency-type features selectively. Such administrations could establish strategic plans to move toward a fuller agency system as their institutional capabilities increase. Developing countries face trade-offs in choosing which CSM functions should be strengthened first. Two functions - personnel establishment control and staff recruitment - are essential for civil service performance and should get top priority. Senior Executive Services have proved difficult to design and implement in advanced countries, but many flaws can be corrected in adapting them to developing countries, where there is often an urgent need to groom higher-level staff. Assuming minimal, essential levels of personnel establishment and budgetary control, unified pay and classification could be relaxed in developing countries, following the lead of increasing numbers of advanced countries that have done this. Given the urgency of other CSM tasks, lower priority should be assigned to reform involving performance pay, the benefits of which have yet to be demonstrated in the public sectors of developed countries. The management requirements and costs of installingperformance pay systems can be considerable and employee resistance may subvert such efforts. But performance-related promotion systems, even if imperfectly implemented, can help move developing country civil service values toward standards of competence and merit.National Governance,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Work&Working Conditions,Governance Indicators,Public Sector Economics&Finance

The Relative Effects of Logistics, Coordination and Human Resource on Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief Mission Performance

Most studies on humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HADR) missions suggest that the quality of logistics, coordination and human resource management will affect their performance. However, studies in developing countries are mainly conceptual and lack the necessary empirical evidence to support these contentions. The current paper thereby aimed to fill this knowledge gap by statistically examining the effects of the abovementioned factors on such missions. Focusing on the Malaysian army due to its extensive experience in HADR operations, the paper opted for a quantitative approach to allow for a more objective analysis of the issues. The results show that there are other potential determinants of mission success which deserve due attention in future studies. They also suggest that human resource is not easily measured as a construct, and that this limitation in methodology must be overcome to derive more accurate conclusions regarding its effect on HADR mission performance.&nbsp

Toward an integrated workforce planning framework using structured equations

Strategic Workforce Planning is a company process providing best in class, economically sound, workforce management policies and goals. Despite the abundance of literature on the subject, this is a notorious challenge in terms of implementation. Reasons span from the youth of the field itself to broader data integration concerns that arise from gathering information from financial, human resource and business excellence systems. This paper aims at setting the first stones to a simple yet robust quantitative framework for Strategic Workforce Planning exercises. First a method based on structured equations is detailed. It is then used to answer two main workforce related questions: how to optimally hire to keep labor costs flat? How to build an experience constrained workforce at a minimal cost

Providing the Missing Link: A Model for a Neighborhood-Focused Employment Program

Outlines a strategy for bridging the gap between low-income neighborhoods and regional workforce development programs. Describes nine implementation steps of a model for increasing career opportunities, and evaluates the feasibility of the program

Manpower planning in hierarchical organisations: a mixed integer programming approach

Manpower planning is concerned with planning the use of human resources. In this thesis, manpower planning is defined as the process of determining manpower policies which ensure that suitable numbers of qualified people are in appropriate positions at the right times in order to meet organisational goals, while taking account of the career development opportunities of the individuals within the organisation.A number of different mathematical models have been developed for manpower planning. These models are reviewed and it is noted that a weakness of the optimisation models which have been proposed is that promotion rates, i.e. the proportion of staff promoted per year, can vary substantially from year to year because of the limitations of the techniques used. Since staff morale is likely to be affected if promotion rates vary significantly from one year to another, the results from these models may be unacceptable to management. In this thesis a mixed integer programming (MIP) manpower planning model is developed for determining minimum cost manpower policies in which promotion rates remain stable over time, and which satisfy specified staffing level requirements. In this MIP model promotion rates are treated as decision variables by using a binary variable representation. An iterative procedure is developed for solving this MIP model.The computational aspects of using the MIP manpower planning model are investigated. A demonstration decision support system based on this MIP model is developed, and the use of this system is illustrated using representative data for a military manpower system. The experience with this demonstration system suggests that the approach could be developed to produce a practical tool to aid management decision making

Spletna aplikacija za optimizacijo hierarhične organizacijske strukture

Background and Purpose: In a complex strictly hierarchical organizational structure, undesired oscillations may occur, which have not yet been adequately addressed. Therefore, parameter values, which define fluctuations and transitions from one state to another, need to be optimized to prevent oscillations and to keep parameter values between lower and upper bounds. The objective was to develop a simulation model of hierarchical organizational structure as a web application to help in solving the aforementioned problem. Design/Methodology/Approach: The hierarchical structure was modeled according to the principles of System Dynamics. The problem of the undesired oscillatory behavior was addressed with deterministic finite automata, while the flow parameter values were optimized with genetic algorithms. These principles were implemented as a web application with JavaScript/ECMAScript. Results: Genetic algorithms were tested against well-known instances of problems for which the optimal analytical values were found. Deterministic finite automata was verified and validated via a three-state hierarchical organizational model, successfully preventing the oscillatory behavior of the structure. Conclusion: The results indicate that the hierarchical organizational model, genetic algorithms and deterministic finite automata have been successfully implemented with JavaScript as a web application that can be used on mobile devices. The objective of the paper was to optimize the flow parameter values in the hierarchical organizational model with genetic algorithms and finite automata. The web application was successfully used on a three-state hierarchical organizational structure, where the optimal flow parameter values were determined and undesired oscillatory behavior was prevented. Therefore, we have provided a decision support system for determination of quality restructuring strategies.Ozadje in namen: V kompleksnih striktnih hierarhičnih organizacijskih strukturah se lahko pojavijo neželene oscilacije stanj, kar do sedaj še ni bilo zadovoljivo naslovljeno. Da preprečimo neželene oscilacije je potrebno optimirati vrednosti parametrov, ki določajo prehode med stanji strukture in fluktuacije iz stanj. Hkrati je potrebno obdržati vrednosti parametrov znotraj določenih meja. Cilj je bil razviti simulacijski model hierarhične organizacijske strukture v obliki spletne aplikacije, ki bi pomagal pri reševanju prej omenjenega problema. Metodologija: Hierarhična struktura je bila modelirana po principih sistemske dinamike. Problem neželenih oscilacij je bil naslovljen z uporabo determinističnega končnega avtomata, medtem ko smo vrednosti parametrov pretoka optimirali z genetskimi algoritmi. Vsi omenjeni pristopi so bili implementirani kot spletna aplikacija z JavaScript/ECMAScript programskim jezikom. Rezultati: Genetski algoritmi so bili testirani na znanih problemskih instancah za katere so znane optimalne analitične rešitve. Deterministični končni avtomat je bil verificiran in validiran na hierarhičnem organizacijskem modelu s tremi stanji, kjer smo z njegovo uporabo uspeli preprečiti oscilacije v organizacijski strukturi. Zaključek: Rezultati nakazujejo, da smo uspešno implementirali hierarhični organizacijski model, genetske algoritme in deterministični končni avtomat z JavaScript programskim jezikom v obliki spletne aplikacije, ki se lahko uporablja na mobilnih napravah. Razvito spletno aplikacijo smo uspešno uporabili na hierarhičnem organizacijski strukturi s tremi stanji, kjer smo določili optimalne parametre pretoka in fluktuacij ter preprečili neželene oscilacije stanj. S tem smo zagotovili sistem za podporo odločanju, ki omogoča določanje kakovostnih strategij za prestrukturiranje organizacij

A Generalized Decision Support System for the Contracting Career Field

This research effort develops a generalized decision support system (DSS) to assist contracting career field managers in making recruiting and retention decisions. The DSS focuses on the skill level inventories of the contracting enlisted force. The interest in this research was identified by contracting career field managers due to the recent negative trends in recruitment and retention and the lack of analytical tools available. To accomplish this objective manpower models were developed using a combination of techniques gathered through interviews with Army and Air Force analysts and a literature review focusing on manpower modeling. The models developed in this study are intended to assist career field managers in recruiting and retaining the correct number and skill level mix of personnel in the contracting career field. The models are generalized enough to serve as a DSS for other Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSC) with minimal revision

Simulation-based analysis and optimization of the United States Army performance appraisal system.

In this dissertation, a discrete event simulation framework is considered to replicate the dynamics, structure, and regulatory constraints placed on the officers in the U.S. Army. Using performance appraisal data provided by the United States Army Human Resources Command, we create a multi-objective response function that quantifies the human behavior associated with evaluating subordinates. Utilizing simulation-optimization techniques for model validation enables estimating unknown input parameters, such as human behavior, based on historical data. Furthermore, the model allows users to analyze the effects of current constraints on the evaluation system and the effects of proposed personnel policy changes.The effectiveness of the performance appraisal system is based on its ability to accurately evaluate the officers\u27 performance levels. An initial analysis showed that 20.07\% of the officers in the system do not receive as many above average evaluations as their performance level warrants. Additionally, structural changes such as decreasing the average number of a rater\u27s subordinates from fifteen to five increases the number of misidentified personnel by 59.86\%. Ranking and selection statistical procedures assist in determining the optimal combination of input parameters such as forced distribution constraints placed on raters, frequency of moves, number of subordinates assigned to each rater, and rater behavior. The simulation will serve as a tool for policy analysis to recommend policies and behavior that maximizes the extent to which the performance appraisal system accurately identifies the most qualified employees. Consequently, the results demonstrate broad applicability of simulation-optimization in the field of manpower modeling and human resource management