ABSTRACT
Organizations use human resource management activities to further the operation’s competitive position by recruiting and developing capable employees and managers and by developing staffing plans and actions focused on contributing to the economic (i.e., bottom-line) success of the organization. Within the port organizational framework, the essential and major focus should be on the continued improvement of the commercial ventures in support of the port’s mission, goals, and objectives. The more efficient and flexible the port is, the more effective it will be in meeting the demands of global competition in transporting goods and people and in contributing to the economic well-being of the communities they serve. This chapter’s discussion is concerned with the managerial development of the security force in port organizations. A fundamental aspect of developing human resources in any organization is the improvements that people make to the overall productivity. A constraint in assembling a competent divisional workforce is that managers may have relatively little control over the larger port organization’s capital, materials, and procedures. This is an especially salient concern for security managers. Security, perceived as an overhead cost to organizations in general, must always be working to justify expenditures that may not contribute directly to overall productivity. Security managers must work cooperatively with human resource managers to support employee development as they pursue the organization’s strategies.
