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Abstract: The article discusses several hemispheres of human resource management based on a typical case review. The study presents the main problems of the case from both employees and organizations; the issued problems involve compensations and benefits， restructuring， job design， and training. Based on the analysis of the case， two alternative solutions state that the potential routes for the organizations to avoid serious negative results. The study introduces a number of recommendations that can be used as a reference for other organizations to avoid similar risks.

Key words: Human Resource Management; Air Traffic Controllers; Strike; Technology Development

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-0194.2009.15.019

CLC number: TP272.92Article character:AArticle ID:1673-0194（2009）15-0061-05

1 Executive summary

On August 3， 1981， around 12，000 federal government employees went on an illegal strike for several reasons， and that strike brought Reagan， the American President， a variety of tough questions. Reagan had to make a decision about the strikers who would not go back to work in 48 hours; he could either give in to the strikers or take a tough stand. If the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) fired all the air traffic controllers who were on strike， the America government would face a remarkably serious and intractable problem， which was how to rebuild the human resource management system. Essentially， there were several problems that FAA would need to solve， such as training new workers in a very limited time period， especially such huge amount of new workers.

2 Problem identification and analysis

Basically， the article separates the main problems of this case into two sides. One side is based on the analysis of air traffic controllers’ problems; on the other side， the problems of American government and the Federal Aviation Administration will be discussed.

2.1 Identification and analysis of air traffic contro-llers’ problems

2.1.1 Summarization of American air traffic controllers and PATCO

Most strikers in 1981 were members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO)， which was an independent union. This organization was founded in 1968; the main purpose of setting up this organization was to ask a better treatment. In general， air traffic controllers’ working environments were very bad. Basically， there were two kinds of controllers: tower controllers and en route controllers. Both of these two kinds of controllers had very busy and stressful work. No matter where air traffic controllers were working， in a tower at or near an airport or an isolated center， air traffic controllers had to tolerate a great deal of noise pollution when they “controlling” planes. Naturally， most air traffic controllers had some trouble with their ears because of their noisy working environments; therefore， a number of air traffic controllers had to retire early.

According to a Professor Rose’s statistic(RM Rose， 1978)， most air traffic controllers had a number of general characteristics. In most situations， air traffic controllers were very strong， emotionally stable and independent.Most controllers “have significant higher intelligence level than the national average.” What is more， air traffic controllers commonly had “l(fā)ow morale， intense and chronic feeling of alienation from FAA management”. Their jobs almost belonged to blue color employees. During off hours， most controllers tended to be considerable drinking considerably. Finally， “controllers tend to have problems of self-control and minor scrapes with the law”.(RM Rose， 1978)

2.1.2 Air traffic controllers’ complaints

Most air traffic controllers had a hard work. Generally speaking， they complained about their working environments， unfair treatments and a number of unfeasible working rules.

One main complaint was about when airline deregulation came in 1978， and with it an explosion of air traffic and its concentration and convergence at a handful of central airports， the Air Traffic Controller System was absolutely unprepared for this situation. However， at the same time， most air traffic controllers did their work as the best as they could. Most air traffic controllers had the experiences of working unsustainable amounts of overtime and eating brown-bad lunches while working positions.

Naturally， PATCO complained aloud about overstress， understaffing and bad working conditions.

Another complaint was about dress code; in 1970s， most air traffic controllers were young people who liked to wear jeans during the working. Their behaviors were very different from their managers who always wore suits and ties. This difference between the young generation employees and the old generation managers brought a variety of problems in internal FAA. The managers thought ill of the employees’ work attitudes; they complained about each other; the managers often yelled at their young employees. This situation stood off managers and air traffic controllers.

Finally， a large number of PATCO members did not think it was fair for them to get a much lower salaries than pilots. Those air traffic controllers believed that they had more stress and their working environments were explicitly worse than pilots’ working environments.

2.2 Identification and analysis of Federal Aviation Administration

2.2.1 Background

Since the rapid development of computer technology， computerization was used commonly at airports. The development of utilizing automation in air control made the air traffic controllers’ job gradually obsolete. In the spring of 1979， FAA faced to an overstaffing problem， and the analysis showed that the FAA’s system could be maintained at the current level with about 20% fewer air traffic controllers.

Training and recruiting new controllers cost a lot of money and time. In general， applicants should pass a few exams in order to ensure they have the capabilities to learn all the skills of air traffic controllers. After passing the examinations， applicants would take a variety of courses that covered all the skills of controllers. The whole training process brought FFA a heavy financial burden and extra work.

Finally， in 1981， the economy of America was in the midst of a terrible double-dip recession; most American corporations cut back. At the same time， there were tons of individuals who were still looking for jobs， but it did not seem that there were enough working opportunities for them.

2.2.2 Main problems analysis

On one side， if FAA and American government answered all or some of the air traffic controllers’ desires， this case would probably have an exceptionally negative influence on other industries in American. The air system would keep FAA’s working condition positive in a short term. However， workers in other industries would follow PATCO and start up some similar illegal strikes. Basically， if FAA gave in， it would possibly bring a serious social problem.

On the other side， if the American government fired all the striking controllers， FAA would have to deal with a horrible training and recruiting problem. There were around 12，000 air traffic controllers who were on strike. That meant FAA should recruit at least 10，000 new controllers in order to get back to the same air controlling level as before. In order to reach this target， FAA had to reduce the standard of the recruitment to make sure there were enough applicants who could pass the recruitment exams. Furthermore， the number of instructor is also a tough issue for FAA. Typically， FAA’s training center did not need such great amount of training instructors. Thereby， to recruit enough training instructors was a difficult task as well. Meanwhile， training courses would bring a big financial burden to FAA. Perhaps， this issue would influence FAA’s business operation for a long term. Finally， safety was also a big issue， which most people would worry about. More applicants would have a chance to get new jobs as air traffic controllers because of a lower standard of recruitment. However， a lower standard would also bring some safety problems， because probably those new workers would be unskillful and amateurish at the beginning.

3 Statement of key problems

The key problems about human resource management include compensation and benefits; downsizing， layoffs， restructuring and new organizational structures; job design， and training and development.

3.1 Compensation and benefits

Compensation is exceptionally significant for companies to motivate employees， because an effective compensation plan helps the organization attract， and retain， skilled employees.

Nowadays， most organizations have their own compensation system in order to keep their business continuously. Generally， compensation and benefits must be adapted to local culture. What is more， there are several methodologies to offer employees compensation and benefits. The organizations should choose the proper compensation methodologies in different situations. Finally， sometimes， it is not fair to pay the same amount money for all employees who are taking the same jobs or positions; the payment of employees should be based on their real contributions to the companies and organizations. For instance， senior employees usually have a higher salary level than junior employees.

Air traffic controllers always complained their compensation and benefits in 1981. PATCO members definitely believed that their working conditions and compensation should have improvement. FAA could do much better on this issue than what they did in 1981. No matter if they realized the compensation was important， a big organization should think about compensation and benefits issue seriously. Perhaps building a comprehensive and perfect compensation system would cost a great amount of money， but this system would be a long-term project， which could keep an organization running continuously.

For example， in this case， if FAA had a general compensation and benefits system， possibly there would be fewer air traffic controllers who complained about the bad working conditions in 1981. After the strike began， FAA lost millions of dollars everyday. After the strike was finished， FAA spent a great deal of money on training new employees and recruitment. To make the matter even worse， FAA lost a large number of skillful workers who had very good working experience. Work efficiency and quality went down a lot after strike. At this point， FAA’s reputation was negatively influenced a lot because passengers began to worry about safety. This negative influence kept influencing FAA’s business for a long-term. If FAA could positively utilize compensation and benefits system then， they could solve a number of problems including employees’ complaints.

3.2 Downsizing， layoffs， restructuring and new organizational structures

Over the past forty years， downsizing has become one of the most popular strategies in human resource management. Downsizing has been the organization response to changes in the economy， especially slower growth rates， the increase in international competition， and changes in work force composition. In many human resource management theories， meaning of downsizing has been changed. An organization should have the right work force size after downsizing; an organization should think about if outplacement program is in place before layoffs begin.

In this case， FAA did not do well on downsizing， layoffs， restructuring and new organizational structures. Before the strike， FAA already had the overstaffing problem. However， it seemed that the FAA did nothing or little on this issue. Since the development of technology， the functions and positions of air traffic controllers were becoming obsolete and different. Therefore， what FAA should do was that they should think about this problem and find out the solutions before they met this problem.

Typically， FAA should have a downsizing system， which included retraining center and job agency. FAA could depend on this system to reduce the number of air traffic controllers. Once the number of air traffic controllers went down to an appropriate number， FAA could save a big sum of money on improving the controllers’ working conditions and treatments. Thereby a proper downsizing system should be positive for FAA to avoid the serious strike.

3.3 Job design

Presently， job design is becoming a significant and necessary segment in human resource management. The job design has a very strong impact on employees and organizations. Careful attention to job design can create a win-win situation in which both high satisfaction levels and high performance levels are achieved. “Changes are occurring today that are requiring human resource managers to play an increasingly central role in managing companies. These changes or trends include globalization， changes in the nature of work， and technology.”(Dessler， 2007)In other words， an excellent job design could improve the organization’s efficiency and workers’ satisfactions.

Basically， job design is a challenging topic for most managers， albeit it has several rules to follow. First of all， this issue currently is not only opened for individuals， but also for groups or teams. A team work is a mainstream of working mode. Even in job design or redesign， the organization can design jobs by groups or teams. Second， “Re-engineering is the organizational strategy wherein major modifications are effected in organizational systems and processes.” This means that managers should rethink some procedure or methods of the work if the redesign is necessary. Third， computerization creates a variety of jobs， thus current job redesigns are based on technology renovations. Finally， the organization should know that job design does not always improve productivity. Sometimes the value of job design is to make each employee feel comfortable on his or her job， because job design will bring different knowledge， working environment， skills or abilities to employees.

According to the general idea of job design， the FAA should care more on this issue. Many air traffic controllers complained a lot about their jobs. Most controllers did the same job for a very long term， even for their whole career for some controllers. Furthermore， in section 2 of this article， some given examples explain how hard the air traffic controllers’ work is. Not withstanding how well the job design was， FAA already realized the overstaffing problem before that problem became a very serious problem. At this point， job design would play a very positive and important role on solving this problem. One option is that FAA could change the controllers’ positions regularly， or retrain some air traffic controllers. For example， FAA could retrain they air traffic controllers， so that they can work both in and out of tower. Then the controllers would have some chance to change their working environments. In this situation， it probably can reduce the risk of noise. The other option is that FAA can also redesign controllers’ job by groups or teams. For an individual， he or she would only learn one skill for one project or task; but for a group or a team， they will be competent on many different difficult jobs.

3.4 Training and development

In the field of human resource management， “training and development is the field concerned with organizational activity aimed at bettering the performance of individuals and groups in organizational settings. It has been known by several names， including employee development， human resource development， and learning and development.”

In general， training improves individual performance， which ultimately improves corporate performance. Nowadays， an increasing amount of organizations regards the training and development system seriously. While all organizations must address a number of types of training and development， the amount of training can be reduced by hiring skilled workers. What is more， it is very important for a manager to figure out the methods of training and development in order to fit in different hiring requirements and training applicators’ conditions.

In this case， training and development played a remarkably significant part in rebuilding air traffic system. What FAA did was that they reduced the standard of recruitment in order to hire enough controllers as soon as possible. This policy brought a variety of negative influences to FAA’s development， such as safety problems. However， this policy also brought some positive effects. For example， the new controllers worked really carefully and cautiously， because most of the new controllers wanted to keep their new jobs at airport during the terrible recession. FAA could easily control and manage those new employees without any management trouble; nobody would complain or argue with managers.

4 Alternative solutions

There are mainly two optional solutions that should be helpful for rebuilding the system.

First option: FAA could change some policies of air traffic controllers and positively utilize functions of media. Through the powerful advertisements， the government would let all the strikers know how serious and negative that illegal strike was and how the government would change their policy step by step. American government should be friendly to those strikers and encourage them to go back to work as possible as they can. The government could get some time to change their policies of air traffic controllers. For example， they could improve the air traffic controllers’ working environments and provide them with better head-sets.

Second option: to set up a job redesign system. FAA can arrange those people who had working experience at airport to take some other training courses， because those people would learn the skills faster. To build some work groups or teams to complete a number of complicated tasks and missions. Meanwhile， the FAA should make sure each group or team can collaboratively work together.

5 Recommendations

Through the research of this case， there are least four recommendations for FAA to avoid similar strike from happening again.

First， FAA should set up a strategic comprehensive reasonable compensation and benefit system in order to ensure each employee can obtain fair treatments; FAA should also keep a check-up policy for those who are having a bad working environment. Furthermore， FFA should look for a number of solutions that could reduce or remove the risk of noise. For example， FAA can upgrade air traffic controllers’ head-sets or use computerization more commonly on air control in order to reduce noise damage as much as possible.

Second， FAA needs to build a strategic downsizing system in order to adapt to the different needs. Nowadays， the rapid development of science and technology often changes a company’s requirements of employees. The FAA should have the ability of restructuring new organizational structures.

Third， job designs should be a part of managers’ work. FAA could build many different teams or groups to be adapt to different requirements. For example， they can arrange a few individuals with different skills together in order to complete a number of complicated missions.

Finally， FAA also should have a perfect training and retraining system to ensure they can hire enough employees who are very valuable for FAA. For example， with the technology development， FAA needs more computer engineers and fewer skill workers such as air traffic controllers. It is possible for FAA to retrain some air traffic controllers and let them work on some other ositions.

6 Conclusions

Based on the analysis of the case， an organization should keep a strategic human resource management system that involves compensation and benefits， job design for employees， and training systems; the number of employees and employees’ positions should be concerned by managers all the time. Managers may change or fire their employees’ positions if necessary. There are a number of elements that may bring employee position changes， such as development of technology， external marketing influences and internal management requirements. For most Chinese organizations and companies， American air traffic controllers’ strike is a good lesson that presents the significance of human resource management.

References

［1］ G Dessler. Human Resource Management ［M］. 11th Edition. Prentice Hall， 2007.

［2］ R Harrison. Learning and Development［M］. 4th Edition. Chartened Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD)， 2005.

［3］ RM Rose， C D Jenkins， et al. Health Change in Air Traffic Controllers: A Prospective Study. I. Background and description［j］. Psychosomatic Medicine， 1978， 40(2): 142-165.