Proposal Summary
The proposed study focuses on the problem of human resource management (HRM) in civil aviation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The spread of the hazardous and virulent virus became a serious challenge for the whole industry (Adikaram et al., 2021). Being the central force promoting globalization, aviation faced severe restrictions on its functioning to stop the further spread of the pandemic. New regulations accepted in most countries introduced the need to alter the existing approaches to adapt them to the new environment (Goncalves et al., 2021). The successful reconsideration of HRM strategies and became the critical demand for airlines’ success. For this reason, the pandemic promoted the emergence of innovational responses to the crisis from the HRM perspective.
The research delves into several aspects vital for understanding the current state of HRM and how it helps to battle against the COVID-19. First, it outlines the current state of the aviation industry, the restrictions it faces, and the challenges it has to overcome to adapt to new conditions. It helps to create the background for the discussion and move to the issue of interest. Second, it highlights the HRM practices used in civil aviation to ensure the safety of flights and meet clients’ demands. At the same time, it focuses on changes in working with human resources caused by the pandemic and necessary to preserve the ability to evolve, recover from the stress, and manage the aftermath. Using the HRM perspective as the basis for the discussion, the study analyzes the effectiveness of the employed methods and their contribution to overcoming the crisis.
The research uses qualitative methods to collect credible information and process it. It implies collecting secondary data from relevant and reliable sources, and working with HRM professionals to gather primary data. This approach will ensure the high practical utility of the study and the absence of bias. The results of the investigation will help to understand the current state of the civil aviation industry and the scope of challenges it faces better. At the same time, HRM remains one of the critical determinants of companies’ success, and the research will generate an enhanced vision of how this framework helps to overcome the crisis and what methods might be effective in managing people to attain the desired outcome (Hamouche, 2021). The study’s results and conclusions can be used as the basis for new investigations of the related issues.
Topic Literature Review
The investigated literature devotes much attention to the problem of HRM in terms of the pandemic. For instance, Van Rooyen et al. (2021) say that HRM strategies have significantly altered to face new challenges. The introduction of new restrictions and demands to safety stipulated the need to replace old approaches with new ones, effective enough to reorganize the work of organizations and assist them in facing the aftermath of the coronavirus (Noe & Hollenbeck, 2020). In such a way, HRM acquires new features, representing the most challenging aspects of the modern age. HR specialists play a pivotal role during a crisis and help organizations to survive; however, they have to rediscover their tools to avoid worsening of the situation (Hamouche, 2021). It means that the current situation offers multiple opportunities for creating new and effective HRM methods (Imam, 2020). For the aviation industry, it also means specific changes affecting all important processes and employees’ work.
At the moment, social distancing is viewed as one of the biggest challenges for airlines. It affects all vital activities and introduces a new task for HR specialists (Imam, 2020). Observation of protocols for safety demands specific resources and, at the same time, reconfiguration of seats in airlines and patterns of cooperation between personnel (Imam, 2020). For this reason, HRM becomes a tool allowing airlines to cope with this task and avoid a critical decline in income. Imam (2020) assumes that there is also an increase in pre-flight checks, changes in catering and plane cleaning services, and the reconsideration of how specialists interact. All these operations demand employing new HRM methods to organize staff, avoid excessive contacts, and guarantee safety to both passengers and workers (Hamouche, 2021). For this reason, the airline industry passes through a period of radical reconsideration of its functioning, including the work of HRM departments.
Another significant problem comes from the fact that numerous limits and severe regulations, especially during the first period of the pandemic, result in a reduction in operations. For this reason, airlines reported that up to 80% of their staff suffered from the absence of tasks, meaning the high risk of becoming unemployed (Imam, 2020). Reduced air travel and tourism (up to 80% in 2020) complicated the crisis and undermined airlines’ opportunities to pay their pilots and staff (Hamouche, 2021). In this regard, HR specialists effective more becomes more important for the whole industry, as they become responsible for the successful transformation of airlines and their improved opportunity to resist crisis.
The current change in the HRM sphere is also associated with the growing role of technology. In general, aviation has always been dependent on innovations and the integration of new approaches into its work. However, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the shift towards using devices in most operations to protect human beings and guarantee their safety. The development of social networks, messengers, applications, and smartphones provided HR specialists with numerous opportunities to remain in touch with team members and control their work (Valentine et al., 2019). Additionally, videoconferencing tools allowed the creation of virtual space for discussion, training, and interaction (Simon, 2020). Under these conditions, the tendency towards the digitalization of HRM strategies can be viewed as one of the most important outcomes of the pandemic and challenges civil aviation faces because of it.
Additionally, speaking about technologies in HRM, it is vital to admit their contribution to achievement two major goals, such as health and safety of airlines. Alsafi (2021) assumes that by using more developed networks and integrating innovative devices in their functioning, companies manage to overcome the crisis and protect their workers. It is attained due to the decreased necessity of direct contact and the growth of mediated communication methods (Van Rooyen et al., 2021). Under these conditions, HR specialists acquire new tools allowing them to reconsider old strategies and introduce new ones, which consider existing limits and restrictions. It helps to retain specialists and avoid a reduction in the workforce caused by ineffective management (Noe & Hollenbeck, 2020). That is why HRM departments play central roles during the pandemic, and their work should be investigated.
Finally, HRM also critically influences the work with clients and the methods used by employees to provide demanded services. The correct analysis of the current situation by HR specialists is followed by the reconsideration of relevant approaches and the introduction of new ones, effective in terms of the pandemic (Van Rooyen et al., 2021). It introduces the need for additional training, which depends on the degree to which HRM departments can adapt to the existing environment and align cooperation between various departments (Van Rooyen et al., 2021). Today, because of the restrictions introduced by special regulatory bodies and agencies such as ICAO and IATA, airlines have to accept new rules and find ways to avoid their collapse. The literature shows that the changes in HRM and employment of new effective practices help to accomplish the task and lead carriers through the complex period by creating the basis for future success.
Objectives
- to analyze the current state of civil aviation from the HRM perspective.
- to study challenges HR specialists in aviation face today.
- to explore methods used by HR specialists to struggle against the pandemic.
- to investigate changes in HRM strategies promoted by the crisis.
- to evaluate the effectiveness of new approaches.
- to discuss the future of HRM in terms of the pandemic.
Project Outcomes
The project outcomes are linked to its objectives. It is expected to acquire a better vision of the challenges HR specialists in aviation face today, how they manage them, what strategies are employed, and what changes are promoted by the COVID-19.
The rational for the interest in the project
Aviation is fundamental for the modern world as it links different parts of the globe. Its stable work is vital for future evolution. For this reason, it is necessary to understand how it can manage crises using new approaches.
The key questions the project attempts to answer
The project attempts to answer how effective HRM helps the aviation sphere to manage multiple COVID-19 impacts and what changes in the field can be observed now.
Research Methods
The issue of interest discussed above influences the selection of the research methodology that can guarantee the appropriate data collation, processing, and analysis. The correct choice of the paradigm impacts the outcomes of the study, its credibility and contributes to the increased utility. It is a critical part of any research focusing on the in-depth investigation of a particular phenomenon. Regarding the nature of the selected problem, the study utilizes the inductive approach and the qualitative research method to gather the needed information.
The inductive approach helps to formulate a particular assumption resting on the data and facts collected through observation and investigation. In other words, it contributes to the formulation of a conclusion based on the available information, which meets the goals of the proposed study (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). Using the inductive paradigm, it is possible to employ multiple sources of knowledge, process them, and make premises. For this reason, it seems applicable to the project.
It is planned to use the literature review as one of the potent research tools. First, it will help to establish a theoretical framework for the discussion by analyzing existing research papers, reports, and documents related to the issue of interest (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). However, strict inclusion criteria are required to avoid using corrupted or biased data. For this reason, only credible sources, such as academic journals, companies’ reports, scholarly books, and reliable databases, should be used to collect information. The availability of data linked to the question and its accessibility prove the effectiveness of literature review as one of the methods to create the basis for the investigation and move to other parts.
The study also employs the qualitative paradigm to determine the current status of HRM in the civil aviation industry and discuss how it adapts to new conditions. The central advantage of this approach is that it leads to a better understanding of the selected sphere, helps to understand attitudes, and incorporates human experience, which is vital for discussing the way individuals function regarding the new conditions (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). For this reason, the use of the qualitative method to collect information is justified by the benefits it ensures. It will be supported by the survey distributed among the employees working in aviation to collect the primary data and use it to discuss all trends necessary for understanding the existing situation.
The nature of the research issue also implies using phenomenological research as one of the effective methods. It allows analyzing how HR specialists act in terms of new challenges, understanding their experiences, and concluding about the recent changes (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). At the same time, this method helps to investigate the selected phenomenon from the perspective of employees impacted by it and having the desired experiences.
In such a way, the study implies using the qualitative data collection methods combined with the inductive paradigm and phenomenological approach. It will cultivate the b enhanced understanding of people’s experiences, collect credible information, and conclude about the scope of changes and the current state of HRM in the aviation industry, and how it helps to struggle against the crisis.
Primary and/or secondary data sources
It is planned to use government and aviation agencies’ reports (ICAO, IATA, etc.) and airlines’ reports as primary and secondary sources. Peer-reviewed journals and books will also be analyzed. Primary data can be collected from HR specialists working in the civil aviation sphere by using surveys distributed online. It will help to acquire reliable information about the current changes in the field, individuals’ experiences, and integrate it into the research.
List of References
Adikaram, A. S., Priyankara, H. P. R., & Naotunna, N. P. G. S. I. (2021). Navigating the crises of COVID-19: Human resource professionals battle against the pandemic. South Asian Journal of Human Resources Management.
Alsafi, A. (2021). Reinventing HR post COVID-19. Independently Published.
Creswell, J., & Creswell, D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Goncalves, S., dos Santos, J., Silva, I., Veloso, A., Brandao, C., & Moura, R. (2021). COVID-19 and people management: The view of human resource managers.Administrative Sciences, 11(3), 69.
Hamouche, S. (2021). Human resource management and the COVID-19 crisis: Implications, challenges, opportunities, and future organizational directions.Journal of Management & Organization, 1-16.
Imam, H. (2020). New normal: An HRM perspective of post COVID-19 in the airline industry. Preprints, 1-11.
Noe, R., & Hollenbeck, J. (2020). Human resource management (12th ed.). McGraw Hill Education.
Simon, P. (2020). Reimagining collaboration: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and the post-COVID world of work. Motion Publishing.
Valentine, S., Meglich, P., Mathis, R., & Jackson, J. (2019). Human resource management (16th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Van Rooyen, J., Shrestha, P., De Beer, E. (2021). Crisis on human resources: Airline companies in Thailand, Journal of Human Resource Management, 9(2), 39-42.