Verified Document

NASA When One Does Tend Term Paper

The practice of change leadership is important to the overall contiguous development and success of programs within NASA. As leadership within successful programs are able to transition to new programs within NASA, new methodologies and a more comprehensive framework that governs and directs the operations of a particular operation become inherent to the operations and administrative fabric of the organization. Management than only needs to ensure that those requiring further training are able to receive training and that process management techniques are adhered to and findings from the results are implemented.

Ostensibly, the human resources deficiency and the design failures that have led to the problems associated with events of disaster or delay for NASA can be addressed via the six sigma methodology. "As Larry Mulloy, one of the launch officials 'stated', "We were lucky-just dumb-ass lucky-that we hadn't had a disaster like this before" (personal communication, May 15, 1991). (Maier, 2002)

The ability to address precisely where the deficiencies inherently lay with the daily activity and integration of the NASA workforce with the internal and external environment subject to the continuous facilitation of project goals. For instance, a project may involve a workgroup with the job of ensuring the cabin pressure is properly regulated at all times and is properly integrated with all systems that enable its function and not interfering with concurrent operations.

Additionally, there are political processes from executive branch officials and within NASA that parlay into the operations of NASA. Contractors that establish a relationship with NASA are often investigated when a problem arises regarding the operations of the material. "NASA launch officials proceeded over the objections of a second prime contractor, Rockwell, that were expressed the morning of the launch itself, when the senior Rockwell aerospace manager, Rocco Petrone alarmed by reports of ice chunks covering the launch gantry-instructed his on-site representative, Bob Glaysher, "to make sure NASA understands that Rockwell feels it is not safe to launch" (Rogers, 1986, p. 1800).

Internal training programs within NASA should have been within the budget from an early period. The program does not adequately train its employees subject to the responsibility inherent in the operations of the administration. The appearance of NASA relying on the innate capability of its workforce upon arrival to NASA is insufficient to enable the future activity of the organization. This is due to the lack of improvement in the education of subsequent generations since the peak of NASA success at the time of Apollo 13. With less in the budget and increasing challenges facing NASA, the inability to address the issues of training a sustainable workforce to handle the technical workload will inevitably result in additional failure for NASA.

The hiring process is additionally a function of human resources management. The notion is to remove all non-fundamental aspects of recruitment, evaluation, and training such as searching social media websites for 'dirt' on the potential new hire or by monitoring communications and testing bodily samples to monitor outside work activities. The fundamental aspects are then in focus which are directly a function of the job design that is inherently facilitated by the role within process design and control.

Conclusion

NASA has seen a period of phenomenal success and subsequent accolades for the technical and scientific nature of the program. The benefit of NASA has been the development of technology that has trickled into the consumer markets, such as materials used in clothing and new operations and technologies now used in laptop computers. These advancements are attributable to NASA yet with drastic cuts to the funding of the program, the level of technology that is a derivative of the program may be eliminated.

The recommended managerial approaches which focus around human resources management all the way down into the supply chain are designed to address all facets of the comprehensively integrated yet someone disenfranchised managed operations and programs within the administration. Most importantly, the culture of safety must be reintegrated into the fabric of the organizational management. Without the reintegration of safety as the unifying force, there is likely to be continued failure as the motivation to remove variability in terms of the psychological component is absent and therefore fatigue and stress become larger components within the probability for human error and failure.

The budget may not allocate funding to finance all that NASA would like to undertake. However, investment into...

The critical errors and flaws in design that have enabled past disasters, and perhaps the ability for one to commit sabotage, if in fact true, is inherent to flaws in the overall process management and safety management of the NASA space program.
NASA must strategically identify the nature of the operations inherently responsible to facilitate the successful organization. Human Resources have been defined as a critical area of improvement. Weber has identified the paradoxical nature of the Organizational Management function within the framework of what Mintzberg had outlined as a politically influenced entity. NASA has to address political ideology as a function of what is not considered to be a core function within the operation of the organization.

It is essential that NASA integrate the internal innovation to its organizational mission. By linking innovation as a function to organizational objectives, NASA is enabling a complementary strategy that combines the proprietary nature of the ideas garnered from innovation to the extensive objectives, political and apolitical, that NASA seeks to address on its missions. Porter does not address the intimate relationship between an organization's human capital and the organization's access to its internal and external resources.

As Porter's strategy analysis is a function of the human dynamic as engaged to the organizational framework, Porter seeks to identify how the employee can be functionally situated to provide a competitive advantage to the organization. However, what Porter neglected was to identify how resources enable human capital to contribute to a safe and cost effective public sector operation.

References

Backes-Gellner, U. (2004). Personnel economics: An economic approach to human resource management.Germany, Mering: Rainer Hampp Verlag. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/201559236?accountid=13044

BROAD, W.J. (1990, Sep 09). Staff problems threaten NASA's goals, critics say. New York Times, pp. A.1-A.1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/427805807?accountid=13044

Levine, A.L., Shafritz, J.M., McCurdy, H.E., Lambright, W.H., & Logsdon, J.M. (1992). The future of the U.S. space program: A public administration critique. Public Administration Review, 52(2), 183-183. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/197162435?accountid=13044

Maier, M. (2002). Ten years after A major malfunction...: Reflections on "the challenger syndrome." Journal of Management Inquiry, 11(3), 282-282-292. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/203308134?accountid=13044

Matheson, C. (2009). Understanding the policy process: The work of henry mintzberg. Public Administration Review, 69(6), 1148-1148-1161. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/853877531?accountid=13044

McCarthy, D.J., Markides, C., & Mintzberg, Henry. (2000). View from the top: Henry mintzberg on strategy and management / commentary / response. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 14(3), 31-30-42. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/210541504?accountid=13044

Schwartz, J. (2005, Apr 04). Some at NASA say its culture is changing, but others say problems still run deep.New York Times, pp. A.19-A.19. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/433035269?accountid=13044

Shuit, D.P. (2003). Workforce problems imperil NASA. Workforce Management, 82(3), 15-15. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/219763484?accountid=13044

Swedberg, R. (1999). Max weber as an economist and as a sociologist: Towards a fuller understanding of weber's view of economics. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 58(4), 561-561-582. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/217657953?accountid=13044

Wallman, J.P. (2010). Strategic transactions and managing the future: A druckerian perspective. Management Decision, 48(4), 485-485-499. doi:10.1108/00251741011041300

Warner, B.W., Richley, E.A., & DeAngelis, L. (1985). Changing leadership and planning processes at the lewis research center, national aeronautics and space administration. Human Resource Management (Pre-1986),24(1), 81-81. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/223833951?accountid=13044

Wong, D.S., Desai, V.M., Madsen, P., Roberts, K.H., & Ciavarelli, A. (2005). Measuring organizational safety and effectiveness at NASA. Engineering Management Journal, 17(4), 59-59-62. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/208955441?accountid=13044

Sources used in this document:
References

Backes-Gellner, U. (2004). Personnel economics: An economic approach to human resource management.Germany, Mering: Rainer Hampp Verlag. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/201559236?accountid=13044

BROAD, W.J. (1990, Sep 09). Staff problems threaten NASA's goals, critics say. New York Times, pp. A.1-A.1. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/427805807?accountid=13044

Levine, A.L., Shafritz, J.M., McCurdy, H.E., Lambright, W.H., & Logsdon, J.M. (1992). The future of the U.S. space program: A public administration critique. Public Administration Review, 52(2), 183-183. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/197162435?accountid=13044

Maier, M. (2002). Ten years after A major malfunction...: Reflections on "the challenger syndrome." Journal of Management Inquiry, 11(3), 282-282-292. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/203308134?accountid=13044
Matheson, C. (2009). Understanding the policy process: The work of henry mintzberg. Public Administration Review, 69(6), 1148-1148-1161. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/853877531?accountid=13044
McCarthy, D.J., Markides, C., & Mintzberg, Henry. (2000). View from the top: Henry mintzberg on strategy and management / commentary / response. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 14(3), 31-30-42. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/210541504?accountid=13044
Schwartz, J. (2005, Apr 04). Some at NASA say its culture is changing, but others say problems still run deep.New York Times, pp. A.19-A.19. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/433035269?accountid=13044
Shuit, D.P. (2003). Workforce problems imperil NASA. Workforce Management, 82(3), 15-15. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/219763484?accountid=13044
Swedberg, R. (1999). Max weber as an economist and as a sociologist: Towards a fuller understanding of weber's view of economics. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 58(4), 561-561-582. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/217657953?accountid=13044
Warner, B.W., Richley, E.A., & DeAngelis, L. (1985). Changing leadership and planning processes at the lewis research center, national aeronautics and space administration. Human Resource Management (Pre-1986),24(1), 81-81. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/223833951?accountid=13044
Wong, D.S., Desai, V.M., Madsen, P., Roberts, K.H., & Ciavarelli, A. (2005). Measuring organizational safety and effectiveness at NASA. Engineering Management Journal, 17(4), 59-59-62. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com/docview/208955441?accountid=13044
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

NASA Budgetary Analysis Payroll Forecast As With
Words: 1004 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

NASA Budgetary Analysis Payroll Forecast As with any massive bureaucratic entity in which thousands of employees work collaboratively on hundreds of individual projects, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) devotes a healthy percentage of its annual budget to maintaining its permanent and temporary workforce. With an annual operating budget of approximately $17.8 billion for fiscal year 2013, calculating the exact amount paid as compensation to employees is a difficult prospect, but

NASA After the Challenger Disaster, NASA Was
Words: 964 Length: 3 Document Type: Case Study

NASA After the Challenger disaster, NASA was required to make changes in the way it managed its operations. There was to be more communication and more centralization, as well as better consultation with experts in order to make sure that the shuttle did not launch when it was not safe to do so. Despite all of the alleged changes, though, further disaster occurred. This was believed to be a product of

NASA Space Program Our Nations'
Words: 1849 Length: 5 Document Type: Research Proposal

S. In closing consider that our ability to navigate out of one of the world recessions in 0 years is a result of the cash management and global funding concepts attained during space program development (Maitner Jr., Otero, 58, 59). For America to forfeit this lead and allow for the industrialization of space by another nation (Williamson, 406, 407) is to allow these many strengths of our nation to lapse.

Value Chain and NASA
Words: 2301 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

NASA Value Chain Analysis NASA Inbound Space Outbound Public / Fundraising Materials Operations Relations NASA Infrastructure Human Resources Management R& D NASA Operations Procurement NASA From an Outsourcing Consultant's Perspective From an outsourcing consultant's perspective, NASA is absolutely rife for opportunities that could both grow the off-site provider and increase NASA's core competencies and successes. NASA's vision is "to improve life here, extend life to there, and to find life beyond." Its mission is "to understand and protect our home planet; to explore the Universe

Debating NASA's Budget and Importance As the
Words: 1209 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Debating NASA's Budget and Importance As the increasingly impotent federal government lurches towards the edge of a self-imposed fiscal cliff, the public and politicians alike have largely accepted the inevitability of deep cuts to the nation's massively inflated budget. While there is still rancorous debate over exactly how the proverbial belt should be tightened, with conservatives demanding reductions in so-called entitlement programs and liberals countering with decreased military spending, a consensus

Weightlessness NASA's Zero Gravity Trainer Aircraft
Words: 886 Length: 3 Document Type: Term Paper

Weightlessness NASA's This report is a review of the article in Scientific America, "A Taste of Weightlessness." As a young child I always wanted to do what the author had the opportunity to do - be an astronaut. Once in space, my visions associated with astronauts has them always smiling as they are sending back pictures of themselves to the world. They are always brushing their teeth in these shots while

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now