Strategic Human Resources Planning
From HPSIGWiki
Keith Linard
[edit] 'The long and winding road that leads to your door': Application of System Dynamics modelling to the Local Government road maintenance strategy.
Road maintenance is part of a complex system, comprising the road pavement, the environment, diverse users, the maintenance authority and Local/State/Federal Governments, that has significant feedbacks, making it a suitable field for system dynamics enquiry. This paper reports on the use of system dynamics modelling to the optimisation of maintenance practices to the 1300 road segments, totalling 2,200km in length in a rural Shire. The model, based on research by the Australian Road Research Board into the interrelationship between maintenance practices, traffic volumes and road roughness, was developed to communicate to Shire Councillors and other stakeholders the implications of chronic underfunding of road maintenance.
[edit] "My theory is better than your theory because ...!"
The theories of Lawrence Kohlberg, Kantian psychologist of Harvard University, on the development of children's capacity to make moral judgements, profoundly influenced (inter alia) Australian teacher education for decades. Advances in diverse sciences have largely discredited his theories. This paper presents a qualitative system dynamics approach which elucidate the claims of various theorists in the cognitive sciences, including Kohlberg, and highlights problems with their approaches. It also suggests why Kohlberg's theories, although resting on a flimsy research base, could gain worldwide support.
[edit] "Doubling our workforce without pain ... or at least without surprises"
This paper overviews a system dynamics modelling project with the New Zealand Army which was developed to identify an appropriate pathway for doubling the size of the NZ Army over a 10 year period. The paper presents the key dimensions of the staffing model, the inbuilt validation process (mapping & statistical analysis of historical versus simulated personnel numbers), and the use of optimisation capability of Powersim to identify plausible policy pathways.
