Inserción del programa en contextos académicos nacionales e internacionales

The first research question posed pertained to existing Human Capital Strategies:

What are the current DoD Human Capital Strategies for science and engineering expertise?

• Why were these strategies developed? • How are these strategies implemented? • Where are the gaps in these strategies?

Chapter II provided a detailed discussion of Human Capital Management, including an explanation of the concept of human capital and a dialogue concerning human capital strategic implications. The chapter describes the concepts of human capital and human capital management; their importance to organizational effectiveness; and how traditional ideas for personnel management have differed from these concepts. The premise of recent human capital management theory is that people are assets to the organization that can

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be developed and improved through investment and progressive management. This is in contrast to the traditional view, which holds that the firm’s employees are costs to be minimized.

Human capital is an integral element within engineering organizations and refers to the economic value derived from the knowledge, skills, and abilities (i.e., competencies) possessed by the organization’s people. These unique competencies give the firm a competitive edge, differentiate it from its competitors and, due to its intangible nature, are hard to duplicate or buy. Thus, human capital creates more value than physical capital and is a strategic asset to the organization. The firm’s human capital management structures facilitate the creation of value within the organization and its products through the effective employment of these unique skills. The means by which firms manage their human capital is most effective when it is aligned with the organization’s strategic goals. As stated in Chapter II, inclusion of human capital considerations within the organization’s strategic plan can enhance the strategic position of the firm and add value through improved quality and financial performance. Though these strategies are not always implemented at the proper organizational levels, they should be integrated with the strategic needs of the organization for long lasting effects to be realized.

The DoD Human Capital Strategies examined in this thesis were the People Capability Maturity Model, CIPS Strategic Human Capital Framework and GAO Strategic Human Capital Management Model. Not all firms are adept at managing their human capital, and most do not become so overnight. Each of the frameworks examined were developed to facilitate a firm’s evolution from low maturity levels, consisting of ad hoc human capital practices, to high maturity levels in which the firm maximizes the use of its critical human assets and seeks to improve them continuously. The CIPS and GAO models are adaptations of

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People CMM that have been tailored for use by government organizations as means to more effectively manage human capital and prevent its decay due to external and internal influences.

Through use of Gap Analysis conducted in Chapter IV, the following gaps were exposed in HCM architectures applied to the Shipbuilding Industry for science and engineering expertise:

• Knowledge Management

• Industry-Government-Academia Partnerships • Development and Implementation of Training • Career Path Development

• Competitive Compensation

• Identification of potential engineering and science talent at the secondary and post-secondary education levels

• Interactive recruitment of potential talent at the secondary and post- secondary education levels

• Implementation of a HCM strategy

• Proactive Development of Subject-Matter Experts (SMEs) • Shipbuilding Opportunities Awareness

These gaps are driven by the specific threats and vulnerabilities confronting defense-related shipbuilding. The effect of military transformation, with its emphasis on design innovation, forces the large shipbuilding companies to re- think the nature of their human capital. This factor requires development of a different type of engineer than in the past. This new engineer will be required to think differently and possess a wider multidisciplinary view of shipbuilding—in essence, be more like a Systems Engineer. Compounding this necessity is the sporadic dynamic of the ship design-and-build cycle and its low-rate production nature. This dynamic makes it difficult for shipyards to develop and retain talent

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between build-starts or new designs. This requires companies to develop means to train new engineers more quickly through knowledge capture and management processes, while providing incentives for current engineering talent to remain in the industry.

Additionally, a disparity exists between the goals of Industry, Government, and Academia with respect to the means by which the talent pool is replenished with new NA&ME graduates. Industry desires an engineer that is ready “out of the box” while the academic view favors research opportunities and providing students with a wide engineering background that will lay the foundations for career longevity. At the same time, students are not aware of the opportunities available to them in a NA&ME career, favoring engineering disciplines that are perceived to be both more exiting and financially rewarding. Thus, the development of shipbuilding talent faces stiff competition from more popular engineering disciplines for students, faculty, and research dollars. An effort is required to reach out to prospective talent at all educational levels, starting at the secondary and post-secondary (middle and high school) levels. This is best approached in concert by all three entities since all would benefit from a coordinated effort to increase awareness of the rewards of an NA&ME career and at the same time feed their own talent pool. At the same time that fewer engineers are entering the industry, large numbers of older engineers are retiring and taking the industry’s critical knowledge and skills with them. These weaknesses in the industry point to the need to attract, retain, and train new talent (including proactively targeting especially talented individuals with the potential to become SMEs) while capturing the skills and knowledge of the existing talent and transferring it to the next generation of engineers.

Businesses in today’s environment need to determine the critical skills and knowledge necessary to produce products that are competitive in the marketplace and fulfill customer needs. These skills, and the means by which they are developed and managed, should be linked to the strategic goals of the

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business. In addition, organizations must take the initiative to continuously improve their human capital and adapt it based on changes in the business and political environment. If shipyards do not find a means to address the shortcomings of their HCM practices, they risk becoming irrelevant in the future marketplace as they fail to keep pace with change and increasing systems complexity. If so, the shipbuilding industrial base will erode, leaving the United States in an unfavorable position.