Human Resource Management (HRM) is primarily involved in the continued increase of the employee performance to the highest possible level that corresponds to their specific role in the organization. An organization has major of its aspects involving people and HRM majors on acquiring the services offered by the people, developing their skills, keeping them motivated towards the foremost level in their duties and ensuring that they continually maintain their commitment towards the organization as well as to its goals and objectives (Edwards, 2003). The human resource management deals with the management of employees in an organization starting from their recruitment up to their retirement and works towards accomplishing different important functions.
Recruitment and selection are one of the primary functions of human resource management. Recruitment involves the captivation, screening and the selection of potential and qualified candidates that are based on objective criteria for a particular role in an organization. The process is focused on attracting qualified applicants and encouraging the unqualified applicants to opt out. An organization needs to execute proper staffing plans before starting on the process of recruitment. It helps to grade on the number of employees the employees. The forecasting of employees should be determined by the annual budget of the organization as well as in line with both its short term and long term goals. The recruitment and selection process is fundamental to aviation security as a function of human resource management. It reduces the costs otherwise incurred on the mistakes of engaging incompetent, unmotivated and under qualified employees. It is especially the case since aviation security deals with sensitive roles and duties that are entrusted to the employees. It, therefore, is very expensive for the workforce to be unfit for the job and there are huge risks involved that threaten the security of a state. As such, aviation security needs to embrace the human resource management functions to ensure that they have the right people that are doing the right jobs and doing them the right way to ensure effectiveness, efficiency, better performance, and security. Firing unqualified candidates and hiring new employees is an expensive process that can be avoided in aviation security by proper utilization of the recruitment and selection process as a function of human resource management.
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Orientation is another critical function of the human resource management. It involves the steps taken to help a new employee adjust themselves with the employer as well as with the new job. Most companies fail to provide a thorough orientation to the new employees and this in a big way hinders their effectiveness in carrying out their roles, their performance, and input to the organization. Employee orientation programs need to include the goals and objectives of the organization and how the employee can effectively take part in achieving the set long term and short term goals. Giving an intensive orientation to the employees at aviation security is one of the major functions of human resource management that is very important and significant in achieving the desired safety and security. The program helps an individual employee to know their assigned duties and their exact job description, the specific role they are to play as well as the relationship of the position to other positions in the organization (Urban, 2010). It ensures that it gives the employees clear clarification to enable them to take up active roles in the organization.
HRM functions are very important to Aviation because human error has been associated with a huge percentage of most commercial airplane hull-loss accidents (Dekker, 2006). The human error in aviation security is directly linked to flight operation, maintenance practices, and air traffic management. The interface between human performance and the aviation security is very critical and needs to be defined to help the operators improve safety and efficiency in the involved daily operations. The human factors continue to grow, and they are the underlying causes of most aviation accidents and incidents as compared to a mechanical failure. The human factors that are very significant in the aviation security make it important and crucial to involve the human resource management. The HRM functions in aviation security cater for the human factors in primary involvements such as the crew resource management and the maintenance resource management. The paper seeks to focus on why HRM functions are important to aviation security.
The human resource management functions in aviation security are important since they involve collecting and analyzing information on the human abilities and limitations as well as other factors and relating all these facts to the tools, systems, tasks, and machine to ensure a safe environment. The safe environment safeguards that the people not only work comfortably and in safety, but also efficiently. The HRM functions consider the human factors seeking to establish how best the people can be integrated with the continually advancing technology most efficiently and in utmost safety. The human resource management functions to translate the acquired information into design, policies, and procedures as well as training that focus on enhancing the people’s effectiveness and better performance (Scarpello, 2012).
Different factors influence the performance and efficiency of security systems such as their physical location, the presence of law enforcement personnel and the operator training. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for the overall effectiveness of the aviation security. Despite this fact, there are other stakeholders whose involvement is paramount for the funding of security equipment and the implementation of long term security strategies. Such long term plans include total architecture for aviation security (TAAS). Currently, the United States civil aviation security program is a combination of laws and regulations alongside resources that are meant to protect the industry and the traveling public from criminal acts such as terrorism. The program is designed as a system of shared and complementary roles and responsibilities that involve different stakeholders like the federal government, the airport operators, passengers and the air carriers. The air carriers and airports implement the guidelines and standards set by the FAA. Since the ultimate responsibility for the safety and security of civil aviation in the state and as such the FAA, the human resource management functions are very significant in working towards achieving and sustaining aviation security.
The Federal Aviation Administration makes policies and identifies and assesses various threats to aviation security. It then issues and enforces regulations, approve security plan and programs as well as inspect and monitor them for compliance. The FAA goes on to provide operational direction and initiate the changes deemed as necessary. The administration then works with airlines on explosives detection after which the airlines screen passengers and baggage. They also secure baggage and cargo as well as protect the aircraft. The airlines and airports develop standard security plans as the airports protect the air operations area and provide automated access control.
The airports also provide law enforcement support (Thomas, 2016) and dispose of explosives. All of these steps, roles, and implementation are carried out by the people employed to fit these roles. It, therefore, means that the aviation security is in a big way dependent on the hired workforce, their effectiveness and level of performance as well as their efficiency in the specific roles. As such it creates a dire need for the human resource management functions to be well incorporated in aviation security. There is a high level of importance and relevance for the human resource management functions to be well employed in all the efforts and steps meant to work towards achieving and enhancing the aviation security.
Federal Aviation Administration has nine regional and three international offices that administer the field elements that are located in their geographical area of responsibility (Bennett, 2017). The FAA administrator makes the policies, issues the regulations and provides the overall direction for the FAA’s functional programs. The field elements enforce the aviation regulations and perform the operational functions. It is the responsibility of the associate administrator for civil aviation security to assess and address the threats to civil aviation security. Aviation security research and development program focuses on generating disseminating expertise and knowledge in the technologies relevant to the civil aviation security industry. It also aims at providing the technical support services for the associate administrator for civil aviation security. The responsibility of ensuring aviation security is on the individuals that are employed at different levels and as such the functions of human resource management are very useful in the aviation security industry.
Aviation security deals with sensitive issues, and it cannot afford to have employees who are required to carry out duties to ensure safety and security unacquainted on the specific details and dynamics of the natures of their work and the sensitivity of their roles as well as how best to contribute greatly towards enhancing the duty. It, therefore, is paramount for orientation of the employees to be well incorporated in aviation security as a function of human resource management.
Maintaining good working conditions is also an important human resource management function. It aims at providing a good workplace and works environment for the employees. It is an important duty for the human resource management to motivate the employees and this way they can achieve higher and better performance and maintain high levels of effectiveness. It gives the employees an environment that propels them to utilize their best abilities in their roles as well as be effective team workers in working towards the realization of the organization's goals. It is lack of motivation that majorly causes employees not to contribute to the aims of the organization to the best of their ability. Aviation security is not exempted from this, and it is, therefore, important for them to employ this function of human resource management of maintaining good working conditions. The human resource management should come up with a system that provides a good work environment for the employees to ensure they are motivated and are working at their best. It should come up with systems that provide financial and non-financial benefits to the different employees in the various levels and department. The human resource at aviation security should ensure employee welfare as a means by which to promote job satisfaction. A satisfied workforce will be effective and work at its best to enhance aviation security. As such, it is very important to implement the human resource management function of maintaining good working conditions at aviation security to enhance the employees' efficiency and effectiveness.
Managing the employee relations is an important function of human resource management. To aviation security just as to any organization, employees are the most influential pillars. Employee relationship is a broad concept and forms one of the crucial functions of human resource management. It helps to foster good relations with the employees since they can influence behaviors and work outputs. It involves the management organizing on activities that make it possible to know the employees at a personal and professional level. Employee relations that are well planned and managed promote a healthy and balanced relationship between the employer and the employee. Managing employee relations is an elementary function of human resource management that greatly determines an organization's success. It is of utmost importance that the employees involved in aviation security would be well known both at personal and professional levels. Since they are responsible for carrying out sensitive roles in aviation security, the employer should comfortably and easily know about them. The employee relations should be managed properly for them to feel valued and appreciated. Managing employee relations well would win their loyalty and trust, and this is critical and significant in working towards entrusting them with roles that determine the safety and security of the state (Searle, 2011). Managing employee relations is important to aviation security as a human resource management function.
Training and development are the dispensable functions of human resource management. It involves the efforts made to improve both the current and future performance of an employee through increasing their ability through education and raising their skills and knowledge in a particular subject. Training and development are important in aviation security especially since there are numerous dynamics involved and the security and safety issues are ever changing and evolving with the advancing technology. It is of great essence to have training and development programs for all the employees involved in aviation security. Various factors keep changing, and they should be able to adapt suitably to curb on all the involved risks. The flexibility can better be enhanced by increasing the employees' ability through educating them and increasing their level of skills and knowledge on the specific details of their roles as well as their area of interest. It gives them an upper hand and better position to deal with the new upcoming issues in their area of work and they are equipped to work best at achieving and enhancing aviation security amidst the dynamics of such an ever changing work environment (Andrew, 2003).
The human resource management functions would operate well in aviation security to enhance the effectiveness. The FAA issued regulations such as giving the airport operators the responsibilities of protecting the air-operation areas of interest against unauthorized access. It is necessary to have a functional human resource management involved in ensuring all the policies and regulations are carried out efficiently in working towards aviation security. Airport security programs are approved by the FAA and are primarily designed to provide a safe and secure environment for the airplane operations, control the movement of people and prevent unauthorized access to the air-operation areas. All these duties and roles are carried out by individuals who are the employees at different levels. It is therefore important to incorporate the human resource management functions in ensuring this workforce performs at its best and is effective.
References
Andrew, T. (2003). Aviation insecurity: the new challenges of air travel . New York: Prometheus Books.
Bennett, S. (2017). Aviation's normal operations safety audit: A safety management and educational tool for health care? Risk management and Healthcare Policy , 147-165.
Dekker, S. (2006). The field guide to understanding human error. Burlington: Ashgate.
Edwards, J. (2003). The human resources program-evaluation handbook. Thousand Oaks: SAGE.
Scarpello, V. (2012). The handbook of human resource management education: Promoting an effective and efficient curriculum. US: Sage Publications.
Searle, R. (2011). Trust and Human Resouce Management . Edward Elgar.
Thomas, A. (2016). Aviation security management. Westport: Praeger Security International.
Urban, B. (2010). Technology and entrepreneurial orientation at the organisational level. SA Journal of Human Resource Management , 212.
