Naval Enlisted Aviation Maintenance Manpower System: Advancing Readiness Through Improved Utilization of Intellectual Capital

摘要

Manpower within the Department of the Navy is a major consumer of valuable resources. Current manpower management strategies are not reinforced with sound system components that employ vital intellectual capital considerations. When dealing with manpower, there are always two perspectives that must be considered. The first is the perspective of the employer, and the second is that of the employee. The Navy's current system of manpower, while seeking a mutually beneficial arrangement, actually creates a great deal of instability for both employer and employee. This instability results in very high expenditures of limited resources, with in many cases, very poor returns. The current metric in manpower, is referred to as readiness. In its current state it lacks true meaning, as the metric fails to capture the true costs expended to achieve it, and once it is achieved, there is no commitment to preserving it. In fact, the current system design decreases readiness while attempting to increase readiness elsewhere, with the same asset. This thesis examines present intellectual capital theory, and evaluates current enlisted aviation manpower system elements in terms of this theory. The research then turns to the employment of a systems approach to help determine a definitive direction for an improved, efficient system for the 21st century.