Mokhniuk A. M., Ph.D. in Economics
Lesia
Ukrainka Eastern European National University, Ukraine
THE ROLE OF PERSONNEL SECURITY IN THE MANAGEMENT
OF AN ORGANIZATION
The growth of globalization and cooperation, the continuous development of
new technologies and the dynamic changes in the environment have led managers
to seek innovative strategies for improving business performance. To be
effective in the modern competitive market all production factors, including
land, labour, capital and entrepreneurial skills need to be managed in a
progressive way. It is evident that the pace of life has accelerated within
contemporary society, and among the results of this is faster access to information.
Kokolanski et al assert that the
expansion of the Internet has made information more available on the one hand,
but that on the other hand this expansion leads to opportunities for the
placement of misinformation, because it is an open system in which anyone can
post data and information [1].
This
confirms the importance, and indeed the necessity of studying the needs of the
individual, including his attitudes, his desires and his priorities, in order
to develop an effective personnel security system.
It is
generally accepted that it is necessary to recognize the extreme importance of
personnel as the resource which offers the greatest potential within an
organization. At the same time, as Ioffe and Yesin contend, people are the
“weakest link” to watch, for those who are seeking to combat threats to
national security and commercial industries [2]. People can be easily coerced
into conducting espionage against a company or nation, conducting sabotage
operations against a government or a commercial facility, or even, in extreme
cases, carrying out atrocities with a high casualty toll. In addition to this,
people are frequently subject to the influence of negative factors such as drug
or alcohol dependency, as well as to the effects of traumatic events, and these
factors can radically affect their performance and reliability.
We feel that all of these factors which have been mentioned above have a
part in creating circumstances in which the need for personnel security
management in Ukraine will increase in the coming years.
Unfortunately,
there are only a few organizations that recognize human 'capital' (personnel)
to be their main asset, with the potential to give them a competitive advantage
and to lead them to success. Furthermore, only a few organizations in Ukraine
provide effective personnel security management. Thus very few enterprises seem
to have adopted a systematic approach to personnel security management, which
includes identifying, comparing and choosing possible models, and reflecting the
modification of management philosophy, and staffing and structural changes.
We consider
personnel security to be a system of methods and procedures for dealing with
the danger that personnel may misuse the assets of an organization or cause
both tangible and intangible damage, starting from the time of their
recruitment and continuing through the entire period of their employment. Such
a security system must include thorough pre-employment screening, effective
line management, attention to employee welfare, appropriate mechanisms for
communication, and the development of a strong security culture. It should also
include a formal procedure for managing the processes involved in terminating
the employment of individuals within the organization. While pre-employment
screening helps at the recruitment stage, organisations need to monitor
attitude changes and events that can affect employees after a certain period of
time has passed.
When applied
in a consistent manner, measures undertaken as elements of a personnel security
system not only reduce operational vulnerabilities, but can also facilitate the
formation of a greatly beneficial security culture at every level of an
organization. An effective security system also encourages employees to
constantly consider carefully what they do or say.
It is our
firm conviction that an effective personnel security system helps organisations
to
·
employ reliable people;
·
decrease the probability of personnel becoming
unreliable after they have been employed;
·
discover suspicious behaviour and resolve
security issues once they emerge;
·
increase the level of employee engagement and
loyalty;
·
minimize the risk of security incidents and
breaches;
·
enhance employee satisfaction and commitment to
the organization;
·
reduce the risk of reputational and financial
damage to the organization;
·
decrease the theft of materials or information
of an organization.
Organizations are more successful if
their employees are constantly seeking new ways to improve their work, and
getting workers to reach their full potential can be achieved by providing them
with effective security system.
In conclusion, it is possible to
affirm that security standards will be improved if performance is properly
managed. It includes such things as satisfactory feedback systems, effective
systems for setting goals and tasks, and an appropriate reward system. When
this is achieved, an effective personnel security system will have spin-offs
such as improved staff interaction, increased employee performance, and an
enriched corporate culture, which has the potential to bring about a
significant increase in the performance of an organization.
References
1. Vasko Kokolanski, Jugoslav Achkoski, Metodija Dojcinovski
, (2013). Breach of Personal Security through Applicative use of Online
Social Networks, TEM Journal, 2(4), pp. 291-296.
2. Semyon
Ioffe, Sergey Yesin, (2012). Personnel Security outside the Box, Psychology
Journal Vol.3, No.2, 217-230.