DynCorp International Human Resource Concepts and Methods - Research Paper Example

DynCorp International Human Resource Concepts and Methods Abstract This research was carried out to examine the Human Resource practices at DynCorp International. The main objective was to analyze the various Human Resource management principles, methods, and concepts. The major areas focused on in DynCorp study comprise its job analysis and design, performance appraisal and compensation as well as recruitment and selection. An examination of the company Human Resource management practice indicates how the HR concepts and methods are applied by the highly sensitive companies in the world. The company applies a number of HR management principles assisting in managing its workforce. It also has unique methods of attraction, selection, training, and rewarding its employees. These processes are carried out to ensure that the leadership and culture are maintained as well as making certain that employment and labor laws are complied in management of the employees. Introduction DynCorp International is a private military contractor based in the United States, which originally started as an aviation company. Over the years, the company has diversified to the provision of air operation support, intelligence training and support, international development, security and maintenance of vehicles (Kinsey, 2006). The company’s largest earnings come from the United States Federal Government and is mostly involved in providing various services to the US military HR planning and alignment DynCorp International has it objectives clearly stated. The company has various departments that that have various objectives. For instance, the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team provides education and resource to the Iraqi Police Force. The departments align its strategies and programs to the company’s needs and objectives (Jorgensen, 2008). This alignment has brought clarity of direction within the organization HR department and an essential agreement on the company’s mission, values, vision and overall goals,. The HR planning at the DynCorp is involved in the creation of decisions involving the work force and the later implementation and evaluation of the same decisions. This kind of planning helps the organization to achieve its short-term and long-term objectives. However, the HR department considers a number of issues while planning and aligning its strategies and activities. Firstly, it is crucial to determine the type of new skills and experiences that will be needed in any job assignment (Kinsey, 2006). This also necessitates changing procedures relating to the services offered by the company. The planning process by the company also considers the performances required in any type of job. Various jobs require different approaches. Training of security forces in the war-torn countries, such as Iraq, requires plans that consider the high level of threat in that country. The company also engages in provision of air support operations that require another level of performance. The various requirements in the performances of different jobs are determined and plans are made on how to achieve them. This includes identifying the type of skills needed and the specific people that will carry out the tasks (Kinsey, 2006). Key Strategic Considerations of Organization Strategy DynCorp Corporation is largely involved in security missions. The company has always been contracted by the US government to offer its services in different areas of the country and outside country assignment as well. All this entails changing environment of operations which necessitates careful planning to cope with the changes. For effective offering of the services, the HR department identify the changes (if any) required in the company’s culture to enable the employees meet the new requirements (Purpura, 2010). Without proper planning and alignment of these plans to company’s activities, there would be confusion in the performance of the job. The HR strategies should also make provisions of how to integrate their operations activities in the effort of aligning the operations with the new strategic plans and objectives. The activities carried out by the workers in any sort of situation should be able to meet the intended goals of the company. This calls for the acquisitions of the highly trained workforce and continuous training to ensure they are equipped with the latest skills and knowledge of the circumstances on the ground (Purpura, 2010). Implementations of formulated strategies are taken very seriously within the company. The success of the strategy implementation is a as result of taking human resource factor importantly in the process of making the plans work. This is because the human resource requires that department think the communication needs within the organization (Purpura, 2010). In addition, the management articulates the strategic plans of the HR department so that those responsible for developing the corresponding actions fully understand the plans and strategies they are to implement. The company has shown that the Human Resource function is completely aware of the effects of the strategies on their HR needs. The HR department is always on time in deploying appropriate staff to handle any new tasks the company engages in. Most of the staff includes highly trained staff, most of whom have previous experience in the military (Purpura, 2010). Recruitment and Selection DynCorp Company has continuously had the ability to attract and make effective selection of the most appropriate human resource. These staff has the required knowledge, attitude, and skills to perform specific tasks. Currently, the company has approximately 15,000 employees all over the world (Duffie, 2012). The HR function success has provided support to the company strategies in a big way. The sensitive nature of the companies’ activities requires high productivity, quality of services offering and the positive contribution the HR function to this objective is taken seriously. Induction of the employees in most of the operation area focus on the team wish which is most fit with the requirement of such particular job. This evidently improves the planning, process, techniques, and supervision. The overall process leads to improved productivity which consequently results in the overall organization profitability (Dun and Bradstreet, 2008). Thus, the HR function adds value to the organization Similarly, through right hiring of the most appropriate workers the HR function adds value to the organization service offering. This is determined by the customer satisfaction due to the service offered. If the statistics show an upward trend as well as declining costs of the service delivery, the selection process is credited with adding value (Dun and Bradstreet, 2008). Additionally, reduction of errors in service delivery also indicates gains from the inducted employees. The selection and recruitment is based on quality. This usually leads to the most appropriate staff, thus, reduction in service and production cost, provision of customer delight leading to customer retention. DynCorp has clients ranging from the military institutions and other civilians’ government agencies. This proves that for them to retain such clients, their services are highly rated. This has resulted in increased sales of their services, their revenues going into billions every year (Dun and Bradstreet, 2008). The company has also been rated among the best – an indication of how their reputation has improved in the market. To maintain the quality of the HR function, the company aims to take good care of the employees. Those who sign yearlong contracts may end up having up to fifty-three days off. Additionally, the staff working away from the America usually receives two-round trip US tickets. To enhance the quality, most of the senior managements have backgrounds in the military (Duffie, 2012). This has resulted in the values, professionalism, and respect only found in the military. Most of the operations carried out by the company qualify as a value adding activities since the improvements mostly happens in consequence with human resource function. The availability of the correct data is essential as well as right interpretation. Performance Appraisal and Compensation Performance appraisal and compensation functions are among the most critical aspects in the company HR management activities. DynCorp has formulated a system aligned with the strategy of the organization (Duffie, 2012). To make the system acceptable among the employees, the company implements the same system in an objective as well as a transparent manner. This has resulted in highly motivated employees. This system has enunciated the company’s expectations regarding its employee’s performance. It also helps in the training and development of the employees. The company has a fair and a sound compensation policy that plays a big role in attracting, developing , maintaining, and retaining good employees. For instance, a pay plan for employees working in Iraq comprises the base salary, in addition, the employees receive a 35 percent hazard pay as well as a 35 % post differential pay (Duffie, 2012). Job Analysis and Design DynCorp HR function engages in a sophisticated process for collecting appropriate information that describes the criteria for a highly successful job performance. The company focuses on the tasks, knowledge, responsibilities and skill requirement and abilities for successful performance of the job (Isenberg, 2009). To develop an effective hiring system the HR function ensures that they have a good understanding of the job. This prevents setting up the employees for failure, job dissatisfaction, and stress that can lead to turnover and other risks (Isenberg, 2009). Analyzing the job determines the human requirements necessary for success. Job analysis is a critical step in designing an effective hiring system. This reduces the odds of poor hires and other troubles within the organization. The HR function has previously admitted that job analysis is one of the most important in designing a hiring system. This is so because the HR department has acknowledged that the activity is time consuming (Isenberg, 2009). However, the management claims that commitment is the secrets to job analysis as well as a planned structured approach. The HR function claims that it is crucial to select a team of experts. This may include up to six experts comprising of managers and employees. These are individuals who have stakes in the jobs on offer. Simply the team comprises staff that are impacted by a recruitment of a new employee. They should exhibit a high understanding of the job, open-minded staff and finally they should be able to reach a consensus (Isenberg, 2009). The team should have capacity to participate in a sophisticated brain storming session. The objective of the team comprises identifying a very high number of job requirements. Every requirement should be added to the list. The session is organized to help the team remain on course. They also try to focus on the risk factor, conventional requirement, and behaviors that the new employee should posses. DynCorp HR function puts more emphasis on the past hiring mistakes and the lessons learnt from such situations. This way, the company avoids hiring people who obviously do not possess the needed skills for the job. Top on the list the company consider cultural compatibility in assessing the risk factors. According to Isenberg (2009), some people will never be happy by the sensitivity and other culture of the company. Another issue considered is the compensation compatibility where the payment package is assessed in terms of its satisfactory to the needs of the employees. This saves the company the cost of hiring the wrong employee (Isenberg, 2009). The company assesses the physical, mental, emotional, and social requirements of the new employees. This way, DynCorp international has continued to apply the most effective human recourse methods and consequently developing one of the most effective workforces in the whole wide world considering the type of services they offer. References Cooke, W. N. (2003). Multinational Companies and Global Human Resource Strategies. Texas: Greenwood Publishing Group. Duffie, W. (2012, 05 02). Human Resources Supervisor at DynCorp International. Retrieved from gijobs.com: http://www.gijobs.com/human-resources-supervisor-dyncorp.aspx Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. (2008). D&B Reference Book of Corporate Managements. Pennsylvania: Dun & Bradstreet, Incorporated. Isenberg, D. (2009). Shadow Force: Private Security Contractors in Iraq. New York: ABC-CLIO. Kinsey, C. (2006). Corporate Soldiers and International Security: The Rise of Private Military Companies. England: Taylor & Francis. Jorgensen, D. (2008). Private security firms standards, cooperation, and coordination on the battlefield : hearing. New York: DIANE Publishing. Purpura, P. P. (2010). Security: An Introduction. Chicago: CRC Press. Read More