Application of System Dynamics to Human Resource Management of Canadian Naval Reserves

摘要

The mission of the Canadian Naval Reserves (NAVRES) is to provide trained reservists to meet various challenges of its combat and support elements to enable Canada to meet its objectives in time of peace, crisis or war. In order to sustain effectively and economically NAVRES has to manage an optimal number of the trained reservists in meeting their demands. Over time demand of the trained reservists has been increased. The responsibilities and tasks of meeting the growing demands of the trained reservists can be daunting, risky, and costly without the proper knowledge and tools for evaluating the nature, structure, and potential behavior of the different components of the NAVRES as they relate to the mission of the organization. This paper describes a model that can assist management of the NAVRES to deal with the challenges organization is faced with; as well as plan, manage and drive the future and strategic focus of the organization in its desired direction. Model incorporates the underlying interconnections among different components of the NAVRES that could help to understand the underlying causes of the challenges faced by the NAVRES. The model estimates the requirements of the trained reservists at different levels under various scenarios as well as provides a laboratory environment for the decision makers to test virtually unlimited number of strategies (i.e. "What ifs?" scenarios) that would accelerate their learning and help them in designing robust and effective strategies to successfully manage their resources strategically.