Introduction
Navy federal Credit Union which is commonly referred to as The Navy Federal whose headquarter is in Vienna Virginia which operates under the regulation of the National Credit Union Administration. Navy Federal is considered to be the largest retail credit union globally. Whereby this year it was ranked to be number seventy eight on the fortune 1000 best companies that an individual to work for. It was actually formed on the 17th of January the year 1933 where it was named as the Navy Department Employee’s Credit Union of the District of Columbia; research indicates that at that time the union only allowed the navy employees to become its members but currently it is indicated that the membership to this credit union in usually limited to people who fall under credit union charter.
This credit union is usually sponsored by the Department of Defense and is under the governance of the board of volunteers who are usually elected from the membership. The Navy Federal is also found to be having a subsidiary which is referred to as a Navy Federal Financial Group that operates as a Credit Union Service Organization which was created with a purpose of allowing the credit union to practice offering of products that are not at the reach of the credit union.
This union is found to be offering accounts services that are provided by many financial institutions and this include the Savings accounts, checking accounts, certificate of deposits among others. Research indicates that in the year 2007 the Navy Federal had more than 140 branches and more than 200 hundred ATMs that are located in the United States and also in some other countries. We also find that Navy Federal also offers a number of online services on its website.
As a result of competition we find that the Navy Federal has a number of competitors such as the Pentagon Federal Credit Union and other banking institutions such as the Bank of America which is a military Bank among others.
Human resource management policies, strategies and practices are fundamental tools for any organization including the Navy Federal. Research shows that the most important asset for any organization is its human resource and therefore all issues affecting the workforce will be affecting the organizational performance directly. It has been found that issues of planning, recruitment, selection, retention, motivation, evaluation and industrial relations for employees are of grave concerns and are usually addressed through effective human resource management practices (Dale, 2001).
In various business organizations, we find that, many employees are neglected and are most often demoralized, not motivated in performing their duties in the particular organization, therefore to avoid such case we find that The Navy Federal has come up with ways in which its employees are enabled to get a frequent and significant recognition. Since its management claims that if such conflicts are not avoided then performance will be low, and the ways applied in The Navy Federal are as follows;
Training
According to the research conducted training is a planned program to improve and bring about changes in knowledge, skills, attitudes, and social behavior. When training is done it brings along development. Development is a long term educational process aimed at preparing employees for future responsibility through the acquisition of new experience, skills, knowledge and attitudes. All employees in a company should undergo a training program in case there is implementation of new technology in the company. New employees in the company should also be job trained so that they can be able to adapt to the functions of the company and also operate in the way the company operates (Ann, 2003).
Training involves behavior modification which is normally carried out in a formal and systematic manner in The Navy Federal. It is as a result of planned experience, instruction and education. Training and development plays a big role in achievement of The Navy Federal goals. Most of these goals in the industry are normally long term in nature. Training is part of the strategic framework of the Navy Federal. It produces a comprehensive and coherent plan that helps in developing employees and other stakeholders in the Navy Federal (Dale, 2001).
When a business incorporates training and development therein, it acquires a competitive advantage over the other businesses. This is because the intellectual capital in the business is greatly developed. In fact employees in the Navy Federal get an opportunity to improve their skills in their areas of specialization. This leads to great impacts on the organization as a whole. There is usually improved team performance when training and development strategies are incorporated in the Navy Federal. Research shows that such training influences the performance of employees at personal levels. For instance employees in the Navy Federal are in a position to carry out self evaluation of their performance and implement self corrections where necessary (Lovelock, 2006).
The aim and objectives of carrying out training and development strategy in the Navy Federal include: To recruit new staff on merit basis, to help eradicate or minimize absenteeism in The Navy Federal, ensure gender balance in management, introduce an information technology system for checkouts, implement employee appraisal schemes, to improve leadership and professional skills of employees and to enhance behavior modification among employees
Training policies in the Navy Federal normally give a guideline on the degree of training that should be carried out in the organization. They direct on the employees that need to be trained. In this stage there is allocation of profits to the training. This is always done annually in the Navy Federal. Aims of training are clearly evaluated at this stage. All these information is always disseminated to the employees and the entire staff in the Navy Federal. This actually helps them to understand that the management is interested in their welfare. This is in relation to career development. Training the employees in the Navy Federal has greatly influenced in the goal achievement of the organization. In fact the employees’ personal skills are always sharpened and this is very beneficial to The Navy Federal in general (Knight, 2007).
Planning
This is the process of developing the company’s mission and defining specific methods of accomplishing it. It can be on a broader or narrow perspective depending on the scope of the goal. Planning comes in a number of ways since all sectors in any other business require some form of planning in order to stick to what has been planned in the Navy Federal. First, there is financial planning which entails the budgeting allocations for all the programs being undertaken within the company. Sponsorship is part of financial planning in that money is needed each year to cater for the teams and individual players being sponsored by companies. It also includes the setting and monitoring the financial spending of the Company in view of auditing any misappropriation of funds. Provision of benefits, compensations and salaries are also taken care of at this stage. Another section of business organizations that need planning is the policy formulation section. This is critical in that as a profit making company like The Navy Federal, strategies must be placed correctly to counter marketing issues such as competition from companies which offer the same services as The Navy Federal (Lovelock, 2006).
Local policy development, creation and implementation come hand in hand with policy planning The Navy Federal. Human resource planning is crucial to achieving the best from employees. Planning its recruitment, hiring, evaluating, training and maintaining the caliber of the workers in any organization is important ensuring that skilled workers are employed in organizations (Ann, 2003).
Reward systems
Reward systems are very vital in every organization including the Navy Federal. This is because they play a big role in improving the performance of the staff. The Navy Federal uses reward systems to improve the performance of its staff by praising employees who attain set targets. This can be done in organization meetings or also at individual level. Rewards have to be carried out often for the union to achieve better results. Managers in the Navy Federal ensure that the set measures are attainable for them to motivate employees to improve their performance. The Navy Federal has been using individual reward systems to improve the performance of employees by incorporating appraisal or promotion for employees who have a good record of performance. Another way through which the Navy Federal uses reward systems to improve performance is through personalizing the reward. Many organizations put the rewards to be so general that the some employees don’t actually value it. By personalizing the reward there is the anchoring of the meaning of achievement more deeply than if it is treated as an administrative task that is mechanical. Managers in the Navy Federal usually ensure that the reward systems are designed basing on the SMART criteria. This means that they are always specific, meaningful, achievable, reliable and timely. When organizations implement this then the reward systems therein will improve the performance of the staff (Knight, 2007).
Recruitment, training and selection
The Human Resource department of the Navy Federal plays the role of employee recruitment, training and selection whereby it is held responsible of recruiting competent and qualified employees. The best method an organization can directly improve its overall productivity performance in the first place is to employ, select and train the right personnel. This entails respective managers getting to understand the aspect of personnel management in an organization. The Navy Federal has engaged in what is normally referred to as job-fit practice which has enhanced production efficiency and effectiveness of employees’ responsibilities. This practice is useful since it ensures that their employees do not undergo extensive training but rather conduct their duties right away using their skills gained elsewhere. Another strategy used by The Navy Federal is person-organization fit practice. In this case, the organization seeks to recruit and select persons with good morals who are able to meet the organizations’ values, culture and structure (Knight, 2007).
Globalization
Business globalization has led the Navy Federal to operate and invest in a global scale to transform patterns of trade and shape the interactions between them for example through mergers. Business environment analysis is very crucial to businesses and marketing managers have the duty to formulate good policies that help the organizations to withstand competition. With particular regard to the Navy Federal environmental analysis, it is evident that the credit union has had some competitive strategies that have enabled the company to perform well in the financing industry (Lovelock, 2006).
The Navy Federal has adopted competitive generic strategies that have enhanced the company’s competitive advantage over its rivals like the Pentagon Federal Credit Union. These competitive strategies have enabled the company to create and sustain a justifiable position in the financing industry. The Navy Federal has formulated competitive strategies that have enabled the company to compete across the entire market of financing industry which is evident in the way it has diversified to various countries. Because of such strategy, The Navy Federal has a strong brand name which helps the organization to have a competitive advantage over the other financing institutions like the Pentagon Federal Credit Union which is the Navy Federal main competitor. According to the latest research, The Navy Federal has investments nearly all over the world, which has led to the success of the company (Ann, 2003).
Conclusion
We can therefore conclude that the Navy Federal is also accredited with the best innovative marketing network that have made the credit union to do well globally. The Navy Federal has opened many subsidiaries in many countries for example; it has a number of markets all over the world which sells its services. Research shows that this Navy Federal is quite global in nature. It operates branches in several countries. The Navy Federal has the best distribution channels which have been a strength that has significantly helped the union to dominate the market for a long time. The other competitive strategy associated with the Navy Federal is that it has utilized its ability to identify the market segments and hence the competitive position of the Navy Federal which is considered to be high than that of its competitors and has in the process developed workable marketing strategies. The Navy Federal is among the largest financing institution in the world and it has got many assets that help it to serve a wide range of customers.
Reference:
Ann, P.B. (2003): Human Resource Management and Organizational Performance: Evidence
From Retail Banking Columbia Business School, Volume 57
Dale, M. (2001): The Art of HRD: Developing Management Skills , Vol. 3 New Delhi
Crest Publishing House,
Lovelock, J. (2006): Services Marketing, People, Technology, and Strategy, New York
Prentice Hall
Knight, F (2007) the Ethics of Business Competition and Other Essays University of Chicago
Press
