Module Name: Human Resource Strategy &
Professional Practice
Code: GHL-6015
Title:
Student Name
College ID:
Name of Tutor: Dr Syed Aulia
Question 1:
Introduction
1.1 Company Background
Oman Air is Oman’s national airline based on Muscat and was founded in
1993. From the time of its establishment the airline company has developed
into one of the leading companies within the sphere of air transportation
having flights to more than fifty destinations including both domestic and
foreign ones. The business activities of Oman Air are in response to the
Oman national vision of marketing Oman as a premier tourist and
commercial destination. The services that it provides for passengers include
basic services for low cost travelers and additional services for the traveling
business and first class travelers, including in-flight entertainment, great
meals and excellent customer services. (Armstrong, 2014). Human resource
management is considered one of the most important factors that have
contributed to the success of Oman Air, the main idea here is that Oman Air
in particular has a quite efficient now let’s have a look at Human Resources
Management strategies, Lebanon Strategy. It is also important to note that
the HR department has received appreciation for furthering its plans to
address engagement, talent management, and opportunity for its employees
within the company. Among the strategic HRM accomplishments of Oman Air,
one of the proudest is Omanization program, aimed at the employment of
Oman people. This also opens up the direction of supporting sustainable
employment and development of Oman Air whereby it supports the national
initiatives. Other notable HR concepts that the airline employs also include
promotion of training and development, career progression among the
employees of the firm. (Al-Khouri, 2012)
1.2 Objective
The main purpose of this task is to consider the HR practices in Oman Air,
understand the impact of HR practices on the organizational strategy, and to
identify how CPD can enhance the role of the HR professional. From such an
approach, we will be able to establish the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, and threats that affect the organizational and team
performance and establish HR plan for the department with clear goals and
objectives that would enable the organization to improve the performance of
the specific department. In conclusion, the assignment seeks to develop and
outline insights into how and where successful HR practices can be achieved
within an extremely competitive airline environment. (Armstrong, 2014)
Question 2:
Investigative Description and critical Analysis
The approach Oman air has taken in developing the human resource
strategies is key to the overall functioning of Oman air and has been planned
for its future growth and viability. Four key strategies stand out: Talent
management includes Omanization, employee engagement, training and
development policies and the complete compensation and benefits system.
2.1 HR Strategies of the Company
1. Talent Acquisition and Omanization
Omanization is one of the core values of Oman Air talent acquisition plan and
has been a key focal point for the company. The Omanization is an aspect of
the government’s strategies to minimize the employment of expatriate
employees and encourage the growth of the Omani people. In Oman Air this
is done through direct employment of Omani graduates from universities,
internship programmes and promotions. It has assisted the airline in
developing a pool of employees with a strong commitment and high level of
skills in their work area, and supported the country’s economy and society.
(Kavanagh, 2017)
However, the ability to recruit local talent can be a challenge in an industry
this dynamic as aviation where specialized talent is often needed. Although
the strategy of employing Omanization policy limits the airline’s access to
specialized talent in the international market, Oman Air targets Omani
nationals mostly. However, the company’s commitment to the training and
development of its Omani human capital somewhat offsets this problem by
ensuring that local human resource is well prepared for the job. (Boxall, P.
2018)
2. Employee Engagement
The most important component of Oman Air’s approach to human resource
management is employee engagement. The company has a tradition of the
employee engagement survey in order to know the employees’ demands and
problems. These surveys feed into programs like flexible working
arrangements, health promotion and recognition programs all designed to
foster a health and productive workplace. The management of Oman Air
understands the need to encourage employees to freely communicate within
the organization. This company has a strong policy of management-staff
cooperation, and it supports an active involvement of employees in the
decision-making process.
3. Training and Development
Professional training is one of the key priorities of the Oman Air’s human
resource management. Company strongly supports training and
development for its employees for all the levels to provide the workforce with
the proper tools for learning and personal improvement. Training activities
can range from technical courses to be taken by pilots and members of the
cabin crew to leadership courses to be taken by managers and soft skills
courses to be taken by front line customer relations personnel. Oman Air also
provide In house training centers in which the employees can also be trained
in courses based on their line of duty. (Wright, 2019)
This is true to the company’s commitment to CPD because the aviation
industry is complex and changing due to the technology and other
regulations need the employees to update their knowledge and skills. In turn,
while the internal training initiative in Oman Air is well developed, it is
identified that training in international opportunities for the carrier is still
limited. Contact with the best practices and foreign experience would
contribute to the growth of Oman Air’s employees’ overall awareness of the
industry and improve its competitiveness on the international level.
4. Compensation and Benefits
Compensation and benefits policies of Oman Air are well structured to ensure
that organization attracts and retain its employees. The firm provides
remunerations for its employees that are competitive in the industry and
other incentives such as health insurance, retirement benefits, and
employee’s and their families’ cheap travel. Apart from these monetary
rewards, Oman Air also offer other forms of remunerations which include
working conditions and benefits like flexible working hours and access to
parental leave to meet work-life balance in the organization. (Armstrong,
2014)
Although deserving employees are rewarded through a competitive
compensation package, Oman Air understands that this is not the only
driving force. The important with this airline is to balance between the
provision of professional support for their employees, and the enhancement
and development of support for their staff. It should be noted that such a
holistic approach to compensation and benefit management has helped to
achieve and maintain the highest indicators of employer satisfaction and the
lowest rates of staff turnover.
2.2 An Evaluation of the Integration of HR and
Organizational Strategy
These human resource management strategies of Oman Air are in
congruence with the organizational objectives of the company. For instance,
Omanization helps the national goal of creating a competent local talent
pool, which also benefits the company in the long run. Likewise, the training
and development guarantee capability to address the challenges of the
growing aviation industry thus keeping Oman Air competitive. However,
there are some fields that require further enhancement of the integration of
the HR and the organizational strategy. For example, despite the fact that
Omanization has been a major success for this company, it may be a
problem if the airline tries to rely solely on local talent to fill its needs, as this
would mean that the company can not draw on the talent pool in other
countries. To this effect, Oman Air could work on the Omanization program
and at the same time hire international talent in some specialized areas.
Furthermore, the company might improve the retention plan by providing
more specific career advancement options and increasing the number of
mentoring programs. (Oman Air, 2023)
2.3 Role of Continuing Professional Development
The aviation business is a very demanding industry that has high levels of
stress and irregular working hours that can never be easily solved, and this is
the reason there is a challenge in retaining employees for long term. This is
an area Oman Air knows, as the opportunities to attract more talents
requires showcasing competitive remunerations based on merit and other
incentives such as bonuses, and perks that include health care benefits.
However, there is room for continuing professional development in the
retention framework of the company which can be proposed as follows: The
company should offer more specific career maps for its employees and
develop the company’s formalized mentoring program which will help its
employees to advance in their careers.
Question 3:
Proposed HR Plan
Goals Actions Result Time period
1. Raise The company will Realization of 2 years
Omanizatio increase this goal is quite
n level to cooperation with plausible and
80 percent Oman’s responsive to the
by 2026 universities and existing policy of
vocational Oman’s
schools, development
providing strategy, thus
scholarships and making Oman Air
internships for to remain
young Omanis to relevant in the
encourage them nation’s
to work in the sociopolitical and
aviation industry. economic
Also, Oman Air transformation in
will embark on a the future.
sensitization
programme to
encourage the
Omani youth to
take up a career
in aviation.
2. Decrease Oman Air will Oman Air will 2 years
Employee develop a set of improve its
Turnover measures to current health
Rate by increase the rate management
15% of employee programmes with
retention. These further mental
include the health and work-
implementation life balance
of career maps programmes to
that help the prevent
employees to employees’
know the fatigue. The HR
roadmap to the department will
next level of monitor turnover
some jobs, which rates every three
has been months to be
embraced to certain that the
ensure that the company
staff have a achieves its goal
roadmap that will of decreasing
help them to turnover by 15%
grow in the within two years.
career they have
chosen to
pursue.
3. Improve The HR Achievement of 2 years
Employee department will these goals will
Engageme engage with the involve the
nt by 20% heads of the cooperation of
department to the HR
ensure that department with
employee other business
feedback is units and also
sought and given constant
as often as evaluation of the
possible and the efficiency of the
employees are undertaken
involved in initiatives.
decision making Through better
as often as strategic
possible. This will identification of
go a long way in these priorities,
improving the Oman Air can
workforce improve its
diversity, human resource
employee activity and
participation and sustain the
hence organization as it
productivity as continues to do
well as improving business in a
customer competitive
satisfaction. environment.
Momentum will
be tracked via
annual surveys
of the employees
with the target of
raising
engagement
level by a 20%
within the two
years.
Conclusion
So, Oman Air has built the entire set of HR strategies that are crucial for the
company’s success. The concern for Omanization, staff retention, staff
management, staff training, and staff remuneration has led the company to
provide a nurturing environment for staff recruitment and staff development.
Nevertheless, there are opportunities for further improvement, especially in
the area of the employee turnover and in the area of engagement through
personal career management and international assignments.
The following HR plan is developed based on Oman Air’s strengths and it
tries to overcome some of the challenges that have been raised in the
analysis. By creating comprehensible objectives of Omanization rate
increasing, turnover rate decreasing and employee engagement rate
increasing, Oman Air is to further develop the country’s best human
resources department and remain one of the most prominent airlines in the
Middle East. The above issues will be spearheaded by the HR department so
that the company can continue to adapt to the growing competition in the
aviation industry.
References
Al-Khouri, A. M. (2012). Embracing Human Resources in the Gulf
States: Leadership Development & HRM Best Practices .
Innovation Journal. (https://innovation.cc/scholarly-style/al-
khouri4best-practices.pdf)
Armstrong, M. (2014). Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource
Management Practice (12th ed.). Kogan Page.
(https://www.koganpage.com/product/armstrongs-handbook-of-
human-resource-management-practice-9780749469641)
Boxall, P., Purcell, J., & Wright, P. (2018). The Oxford Handbook of
Human Resource Management . Oxford University Press.
(https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-
of-human-resource-management-9780199547029)
Cascio, W. F., & Boudreau, J. W. (2010). Investing in People:
Financial Impact of Human Resource Initiatives (2nd ed.). Pearson
FT Press.
(https://www.pearson.com/store/p/investing-in-people/P10000022
0017)
Dessler, G. (2020). Human Resource Management (16th ed.).
Pearson. (https://www.pearson.com/store/p/human-resource-
management/P100000730888)
Kavanagh, M. J., & Johnson, R. D. (2017). Human Resource
Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions
(4th ed.). Sage Publications.
(https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/human-resource-information-
systems/book241637)
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2019).
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management (8th ed.).
McGraw-Hill Education.
(https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/fundamentals-
human-resource-management-noe-hollenbeck/
M9781259686702.html)
O’Donnell, O., & Boyle, R. (2008). Understanding and Managing
Organizational Culture . Institute of Public Administration.
(https://www.ipa.ie/_fileUpload/Documents/CPMR_DP_40_Understa
nding_Managing_Organisational_Culture.pdf)
Oman Air. (2023). Omanization Strategy . Oman Air Official
Website. (https://www.omanair.com/en/content/omanization)
Ulrich, D., & Brockbank, W. (2005). The HR Value Proposition .
Harvard Business Review Press. Al-Khouri, A. M. (2012).
Embracing Human Resources in the Gulf States: Leadership
Development & HRM Best Practices . Innovation Journal.
(https://innovation.cc/scholarly-style/al-khouri4best-practices.pdf)
Armstrong, M. (2014). Armstrong’s Handbook of Human Resource
Management Practice (12th ed.). Kogan Page.
(https://www.koganpage.com/product/armstrongs-handbook-of-
human-resource-management-practice-9780749469641)
Boxall, P., Purcell, J., & Wright, P. (2018). The Oxford Handbook of
Human Resource Management . Oxford University Press.
(https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-oxford-handbook-
of-human-resource-management-9780199547029)
Cascio, W. F., & Boudreau, J. W. (2010). Investing in People:
Financial Impact of Human Resource Initiatives (2nd ed.). Pearson
FT Press.
(https://www.pearson.com/store/p/investing-in-people/P10000022
0017)
Dessler, G. (2020). Human Resource Management (16th ed.).
Pearson. (https://www.pearson.com/store/p/human-resource-
management/P100000730888)
Kavanagh, M. J., & Johnson, R. D. (2017). Human Resource
Information Systems: Basics, Applications, and Future Directions
(4th ed.). Sage Publications.
(https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/human-resource-information-
systems/book241637)
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2019).
Fundamentals of Human Resource Management (8th ed.).
McGraw-Hill Education.
(https://www.mheducation.com/highered/product/fundamentals-
human-resource-management-noe-hollenbeck/
M9781259686702.html)
O’Donnell, O., & Boyle, R. (2008). Understanding and Managing
Organizational Culture . Institute of Public Administration.
(https://www.ipa.ie/_fileUpload/Documents/CPMR_DP_40_Understa
nding_Managing_Organisational_Culture.pdf)
Oman Air. (2023). Omanization Strategy . Oman Air Official
Website. (https://www.omanair.com/en/content/omanization)
Ulrich, D., & Brockbank, W. (2005). The HR Value Proposition .
Harvard Business Review Press. (https://store.hbr.org/product/the-
hr-value-proposition/4591)
