Running Head DEPT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS1DEPT OF VETERANS .docx

Running Head: DEPT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
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DEPT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
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Evaluation of the Agency’s Budgeting and Cumulative Report
Lauren Riley
Professor Andre Lee
Public Administration Capstone
December 15, 2019
1. Observations about the success of the agency and areas for
improvement.
The first observation is health; the department has done all it
can to provide vital services to American veterans, and amongst
them is their health. Apart from the physical injury, which most
of the veteran’s face, other forms of injury such as traumatic
brain injury are quite serious.
The second observation is the benefits programs. Currently, the
agency provides benefit programs to injured veterans and their
families. These benefits are meant for the upkeep of the soldiers
and their dependents. Currently, the agency provides a specific
amount of upkeep money to the dependents as per the
grievousness of the injury to the veteran or even in the event of
a loss of the veteran (Rugen et al., 2015).

The third observation is the access to the national cemeteries
for the former military personnel. This has been done in a very
seamless manner, and this is meant to ensure that veterans feel
part of the American heritage of patriotism and that they are
being cherished.
2. Recommendations for improvement
From the first observation, the agency can reach out to veterans
in order to assess their well-being in totality. Well-being, in this
case, can mean assessing their mental well-being and testing
them whether they have a dramatic brain injury that affects their
lives after resignation from active service. One of the areas that
the agency can improve on includes testing the veterans for
post-traumatic stress disorder. Such testing is done with the aim
of ensuring that they can better cope with society even after
they have resigned from active service.
The agency can improve on this by looking into the education of
the dependents. Apart from the monetary benefits, it would be
critical for the agency to ensure that the dependents are as
successful as when their loved one was alive. However, this
needs a rigorous assessment of the cost-benefit analysis of the
project as a whole. Such a strategy, according to the works of
VA. Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. (2019)
goes a long way in ensuring that the loved ones and dependents
of the veterans feel part and parcel of the American society in
its entirety.
In addition to the third observation, the agency could reach out
to the veterans who have resigned from active service. Some of
them might not perceive the need to reach out for support, and
for this reason, the agency can step in to reach out to them and
find out if they need services such as financial aid and health
reimbursements. What the agency can do in this case is
followed up on the lives of the veterans right after they have
resigned from active service. They can also serve as an
inspiration to not only the veterans but society as well.

3. Challenges and experiences in the research in general.
The experience when researching the agency is an eye-opener
into critical aspects of American society. It has deeply affected
my career, especially when it comes to reaching out to the
people whom I serve. The research is an eye-opener into
different methods of inquiring into a phenomenon and analyzing
the data collected. The research, however, could be more
engaging had it been a quantitative one where I would have to
meet the veterans themselves and incurred firsthand information
from them. During the research, one of the biggest challenges
faced was the time constraint where other activities such as
interviews depended on the interviewees.
References
Rugen, K. W., Watts, S. A., Janson, S. L., Angelo, L. A., Nash,
M., Zapatka, S. A., ... & Saxe, J. M. (2015). Veteran affairs
centers of excellence in primary care education: transforming
nurse practitioner education. Nursing Outlook, 62(2), 78-88.
VA. Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. (2019,
September 1). Veterans Affairs. Retrieved from
https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=4007.
A minimum of 150 words each question and References
Response (#1 – 6) KEEP RESPONSE WITH ANSWER
Make sure the Responses includes the Following: (a) an
understanding of the weekly content as supported by a scholarly
resource, (b) the provision of a probing question. (c) stay on
topic
1. The process of human resource management is created to
create energetic, hight altitude workforce: develop employees
through orientation, training and development, and performance
management: and maintain that workforce with career
development, work-life balance, compensation and benefits,
retention and turnover, and labor-management relations

(Schermerhorn. 2014). This aligns human capital and
organizational strategies in various ways. The included detail of
human resources sets the tone for the company itself,
employees, and everything other company or resources that is
attached to it. Capital skills involves the employees, what they
bring to the company, and their performance. This can be
governed or structured by effective organizational strategies.
They not only co-exist, but they can work together
strengthening the company and overall work environment if
utilized correctly. Human resource management employees are
aligning the organizational strategies into the performance of
the business (Schermerhorn & Uhl-Bien 2014). This means that
HR should make sure that they hire equipped employees, but
they also much be knowledgeable of the need, goal, and
functions of the company. Employees must be trained properly,
given clear and thorough instructions and set up to the best job
that they can do. HR sets the tone for the productivity, success,
development, and more of the company while creating great
employee workmanship and growth.
2. The alignment is as follows: Business need drives the need
for human capital, and human resource management is the
management of people in an organization that help businesses to
obtain and retain the needed human capital. The following is an
explanation of how it all aligns. All organizations have goals
and objectives that must be met in order for the organization not
only continue to in business, but to expand, and/or develop new
products or provide new services. Growth and development of a
company, and the goals and objectives needed to meet these
criteria, are communicated from upper management down to
human resources. Human resources will have to determine what
knowledge and skills employees need to have in order to
accomplish the organizational goals and objectives. The
knowledge and skills that employees bring to the workplace is
known as human capita (Schermerhorn & Uhl-Bien, 2014)l. It is
the function of human resource management to attract and retain

individuals that possess the knowledge and skills (human
capital) needed by the organization to meet its organizational
strategies (Schermerhorn & Uhl-Bien, 2014).
3. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, expressly prohibits the
discrimination against anyone on the basis of race, color,
religion, gender, or national origin (Schermerhorn & Uhl-Bien,
2014, p. 30). With that there are laws of the Federal Legislation
are given to the human resource management of a
company/business to follow on the national level and there are
laws that must be followed on the state level as well. Each state
may very within their laws, so it depends on which state the
company is located in. These laws consist of criminal
background checks, drug testing and labor regulations. Laws in
place are; regulations on wages and overtime, family and
medical leave, disability and medical privacy and hiring laws on
anti-discrimination. Without these types of laws for the the
human resource management departments of organizations or
businesses, many of us would be taken advantage of. As we can
see over the years these laws have been put into place because
of the wrongful abuse of organizations and employees working
for them to try and make a living.
4. There are many laws in place to protect employees from job
discrimination. It is the job of HR to make sure these laws are
being followed and protect the employees. They can do this in
many ways. Where I work at orientation we must watch a video
and sign at the end concerning discrimination. We then must
watch the video yearly and do an update. We have a line that we
can call to report any issues called the whistle blower line. This
information is kept confidential if you tell them that. They help
with a variety of issues and the supervisors can not retaliate or
they will lose their job. They have a legal team on staff that
managers can go to for questions concerning any laws if they
are unsure what to do. Job discrimination is the enemy of human
resource management if they value people (Schermerhorn,

2014). The civil Rights Act of 1964 and amended by EEO Act
of 1972 and the Civil Rights Act of 1991 gives everyone the
same right to a job (Schermerhorn, 2014). It does not matter
what race, sex, color, national origin, or religion. I took a
management class and they take this very seriously. My place of
employment will not put up with this in any way. They have a
class about bias for management also. They said we all of bias
and we need to be aware of it and not make or decisions based
on our own bias. Title VII says that companies must show
affirmative action for protected groups. The 1963 Equal Pay Act
requires equal pay for everyone based on skill, responsibility,
and working condition (Schermerhorn, 2014). The Age
Discrimination Act of 1967 and amended in 1978 and 1986
protects against age restrictions (Schermerhorn, 2014). The
1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act protect pregnant female
employees. The American with Disabilities Act of 1990
amended in 2008 protects people with disabilities
(Schermerhorn, 2014). The Family Medical Leave Act of 1993
protects an employee’s job if a family member is ill
(Schermerhorn, 2014).
5. Those with strong faiths and worldviews will find that they
are heavily influenced by their faiths and worldviews in thought
and behavior toward managing others. For Christians like
myself, our faith resides in the word of God and the principles
that are shared in the bible. For me it is important to embrace
the applications of these principles in my own life and
practice humility and servant leadership in a managerial role. I
also believe that faith accepts that self-discipline, discernment,
and ethical behavior are all components of effective
management. One must control one's own behavior, exercising
the control necessary to make decisions that are not self-serving
but rather that support the well being of those that you serve.
Other traits that are commanded by Christian faith are trust,
integrity, morality, and respect. These traits influence our
choices and lead us to choose ethical behaviors, to invite

transparency, to lead by example, and to extend respect to those
we work with. I believe the most influential aspect of faith in
management is how people are valued that work for and with
you. Much of the business world is consumed by insatiable
greed, working for individual gain with little thought given to
the outcome for others affected by decisions. While these
businesses are often managed by highly skilled individuals, the
lack of principles that place value on others will eventually lead
to failure of the organization. The absence of faith doesn't
suggest the absence of these traits or values, but I believe it can
be said that someone of strong faith will be influenced to be
better in these areas as they conduct the work of managing
others.
6. An individual's faith or worldview can have a tremendous
impact on management practices. At its core, management
practices can lead a team of employees in a way that allows for
a company or organization to not only become sustainable and
thriving, but it is done so in an ethical way. Thus, based upon a
person's worldview, their inner thoughts and beliefs will
ultimately influence how they manage a team of employees. In a
specific case of a Christian worldview, which provides the
foundation for ethical thinking, a manager will be guided by
their beliefs of ethical thinking, that will ultimately transition
over to how their management practices are influenced
(Dockery, n.d.). Further, a manager that has a Christian
worldview will look upon means of support, love, and
involvement within the team they lead, as the Christian
worldview demonstrates these traits. Though the Christian
worldview is of focus in this example, other worldviews
promote respect, love, and unity, which can also have a
tremendous impact on management practices. If a person retains
these qualities as their own beliefs, they will ultimately promote
harmony, respect, and love from a managerial perspective.
Finally, it is through a person's faith and or worldview that will
influence what type of personal management practices are

implemented.
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Evaluation of Agency’s Ethics, Cooperation, Leadership and
Legal Decisions
Lauren Riley
Professor Andre Lee
December 1, 2019
Veterans Affairs
The US Veterans Affairs is a federal cabinet-level agency that
is charged with the responsibility of providing near-
comprehensive healthcare services to qualified military veterans
at outpatient clinics and VA medical centers across the country
(US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2019). The VA also
provides various non-healthcare benefits such as vocational
rehabilitation, disability compensation, home loans, life
insurance, educational assistance, memorial and burial benefits
to the eligible veterans and the members of their families. It
operates a national healthcare system that comprise of more
than 1,700 hospitals, clinics, community living centers and
readjustment counseling facilities (US Department of Veterans
Affairs, 2019). This paper is going to perform a review of the

VA’s ethics, leadership, cooperation and the legal decisions.
Current Events
In the process of reviewing administrative responsibility and
ethical implications, the current events related to the Center for
Public Integrity helps understand the need for accountability
and administrative responsibility. In July 2017 a report was
provides regarding how special interests affect political
environments in the US. The report took the path of an
investigative approach to understand how interests relate with
political objectives.
In another case, a report by the Center for Public Integrity on
November 2017, described the ruling of a judge against a cyber
security lawsuit. An organization was seeking access to
taxpayer funded studies on the vulnerabilities of cyber security
in Federal Election Commission. The ruling of the court was
unwelcomed since the agency had initially filed a lawsuit
against FEC to be granted access to security studies that had
been commissioned with regard to the infiltration of Chinese
hackers to their computer systems. Based on the news events, it
was clear that the Center for Public Integrity played a key role
in improving accountability and ethical compliance in
administrative activities.
Leadership Influences
The Department of Veterans Affairs is headed by the Secretary
of Veterans Affairs, appointed by the President based on the
advice and consent of the Senate (Lamoreaux, 2006). In light of
political contexts and leadership models, it is evident that
internal leaders such as the director and senior executives have
a significant influence over the process of decision making at
the VA. The activities of the agency are undertaken in a more
decentralized manner. The VA has a corporate culture where
senior management includes the low-level employees and
managers in the decision-making process and problem solving
(Lamoreaux, 2006). The political leaders and the internal
agency leaders have a significant influence over the failure or

success of the agency in various ways. Leaders tend to share
their experience and knowledge with the employees for decision
making purposes. Through this, the senior leaders create a
positive environment for effective decision making. It is also a
good move for the managers and leaders considering the fact
that VA is meant to motivate, inspire and give hope to the
service men and their families.
Another way the internal leaders of VA influences decision
making is through open interaction and communications with
the rest of the stakeholders of the organization. When there is
open communication within an organization, it becomes easier
to interact and build trust with the staff. This helps improve
synergy. The political leaders of the VA will need this synergy
to develop decisions and actions that are acceptable by a large
percentage of the stakeholders. The internal leadership of VA
also influences decision making by developing a framework of
decision making that aligns with the current issues facing the
department (Lamoreaux, 2006). The internal leadership ensures
that they assert a decision-making framework that meets the
changing needs of the veterans. Such measures ensure that VA
is run effectively and remains successful in the long run.
Legal Decisions
VA has the authority to enforce regulations as mandated within
its responsibilities. When laws and regulations have been passed
by the Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs is granted
the legal mandate by the state laws and federal guidelines to
ensure that health care centers and facilities associated comply
with the set regulations. It can therefore be deduced that the VA
possess both federal and state legal mandates to enforce
regulations set within its primary objectives. It has the VA
police, which are a specialized federal law enforcement agency
and officers with full police powers mandated by the statutory
authority to enforce all federal laws, and VA rules and
regulations (US Department of Veterans Affairs, 2019). They
also have the power to make arrests on VA controlled property.
The VA Police are considered as armed, federal law

enforcement and protective service entity that functions in and
around different Veterans Affairs Medical Centers, National
Cemeteries and other VA facilities in the US (US Department of
Veterans Affairs, 2019).
However, the department faces various challenges in its
enforcement responsibility. Poor governance and corporate
plays a significant role in the challenges. Additionally, there is
low quality information for risk assessment as well as the
complexities within the interstate regulations.
Strategies for Consideration to Administrative Processes
One of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ future plans to
improve the agency’s operations and its main recipients is
through the expansion of leadership and management oversight,
fostering knowledge management, and enhancing performance
evaluation and accountability. This would help deal with issues
emanating from poor risk management, review performance
outcomes and improve compliance to the federal regulations and
the ethical standards (Svada, 2014). The measures will
significantly impact the internal leadership of the department
and management structure. The recipients will have the
responsibility of improving the effectiveness of communication
and evaluation patterns.
Knowledge management can also be used to effectively capture
the kind of knowledge required by the department’s stakeholder
participation. The Department of VA intends to manage its
information and communication methods to ensure that
stakeholders get access and regular updates to information. The
Department of VA also intends to improve the concept of
performance evaluation and accountability (Boyko et al., 2012).
Through this, the department intends to improve its integrity
and excellence levels for effective and fair delivery of mandate
to the veterans. They will tighten their adherence to the set
standards by ensuring that they do not slide off the path to
achieving its mission.
Recommendations for Improvements to Administrative
Processes

Based on the models that influence public policy, I would
recommend regular campaigns on primary care policies and the
development of advocacy capacity for the stakeholders. Holding
regular campaigns on primary care would ensure that the
veterans are well informed about the aspect of primary care
programs and policies that the departments advocate for.
Creating an advocacy capacity for the stakeholders will also
ensure that they get the information they require and have the
right of expressing themselves freely regarding any issue with
the services provided to them by the department. Through these
two strategies, the Department of VA will create awareness on
some of the significant policies they advocate for and welcome
public or stakeholder opinion (Byrne et al., 2010).
Looking at the three strategies aforementioned, the first one was
aimed at expanding the leadership and management oversight to
include the lower level employees. The success of the
department and the delivery of its services should be
responsibility of every employee. This means that they will be
accountable and show commitment to achieving the common
goal. Knowledge management can be improved by conducting
employee training and development programs that further
enhances career development. Finally, the Department of VA
can improve accountability and performance evaluation by
setting new ethical standards to guide its activities.
Appendix: Interview Form
Administrative Responsibility and Leadership Ethics Form
Contact Details
Interviewee Name: Moffat Haroun
Address: New York, BM 29424
Email: moffatharoun18gmail.com
Interview Questions (Pick Yes or No)
1. Do you think understand the administrative functions of the
Department of Veterans Affairs?
Yes

No
2. Within the past five years, have you come across a news
event talking about administrative responsibility and ethics?
Yes
No
3. Do you think the Department of Veterans Affairs should
develop more strategies to improve their administrative
activities? Are they better positioned to offer quality services to
the veterans?
Yes
No
References
Boyko, E. J., Koepsell, T. D., Gaziano, J. M., Horner, R. D., &
Feussner, J. R. (2012). US Department of Veterans Affairs
medical care system as a resource to epidemiologists. American
journal of epidemiology, 151(3), 307-314.
Byrne, C. M., Mercincavage, L. M., Pan, E. C., Vincent, A. G.,
Johnston, D. S., & Middleton, B. (2010). The value from
investments in health information technology at the US
Department of Veterans Affairs. Health Affairs, 29(4), 629-638.
Lamoreaux, J. (2006). The organizational structure for medical
information management in the Department of Veterans Affairs:
an overview of major health care databases. Medical Care,
34(3), 31-44.
Svara, J. H. (2014). The ethics primer for public administrators
in government and nonprofit organizations. Burlington, MA:
Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs (2019) Retrieved from
https://www.va.gov/
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Evaluation of the Agency’s Budgeting and Cumulative Report
Lauren Riley
Professor Andre Lee
December 15, 2019
VA’s Budgeting
This assignment seeks to establish a profound analysis and
assessment of the Veterans Affairs budgeting. After a review of
the budget and all pertinent details provided, the paper provides
recommendations on what needs to be improved. This will be
achieved first by evaluating the budget of the VA using the
format discussed: The paper will first identify if the VA budget
is an independent body or an executive department. It will then
determine the relevant subcommittees that have jurisdictions
over every budget request by the VA. The paper will then assess
where the different operations of VA fall under the operational
classification of the federal state budget. Ultimately, the paper
will reveal outlays and the budget authority for the VA in the
FY2012.
The VA is a state-operated veteran benefit system that is

bestowed at a cabinet-level status. The VA budget has an
extensive disparity in terms of the amount requested for its
annual budget every year (Rugen et al. 2015). The large
disparity in the budget request is due to several factors, not
excluding the number of clients that the VA requires to service,
upgrade their facilities every year, the number of workforces
that VA employs, which approximately stands at 300000 and the
advantages that clients of the VA need.
Budget Overview
Originally, the VA was an independent body; currently, the VA
is categorized as a United States executive department. The
major sub-committees that own jurisdiction over the annual
federal budget of the VA are the House Appropriations
Subcommittee, which has the power to reduce the budget
proposed by the president to the VA (Office of Budget, 2015).
There is a general rule that The House Appropriation
Subcommittee has, the power to critique the proposed budget
and send it back to the president. Subcommittees, for example,
VA, Military Construction, and other associated agencies
supervised by Thad Cochran as the chairperson, also have
discretionary ability to influence alterations in the budget that
proposed by the president (Veteran Subcommittee, 2015). This
can be achieved while simultaneously committing to its vision
statement derived from the chairperson, Thad Cochran. He also
holds discretionary power to influence changes in the Art. 1,
Sec. 9 of the American Constitution, which decrees there will
be no money withdrawn from the treasury, however in
consequence of Appropriations established by the law.
The federal budget is categorized into approximately twenty
distinct classifications. These classifications are identified as
federal budget functions. Every class of these functions entails
all expenditures for its perspective title, notwithstanding any
federal body that monitors the specific federal actions. The
resolution budget of both the president and the Congress,
submitted every year, is comprised of all the twenty distinct

categories (Office of Budget, 2015). Veteran Services and
Benefits are categorized in their unique function known as
Function 700. This function addresses the programs devised for
the VA such as medical care for veterans, pension and
compensations, education benefits, rehabilitation benefits, and
housing schemes. Function 700 entails the American Battle
Monuments Commission, the U.S Court of Appeals for Veterans
Claims, and the Department of Labor's Veterans' Employment
and Training Service. Approximately 90% of all allocated
funding for Function 700 is channeled towards the healthcare of
veterans (Office of Budget, 2015). The overall VA budget
authority for FY2012 stood at $139,011,765. If the budget is
broken down further to each of the distinct programs under
Function 700, the outcome is that the total budget channeled to
the General Administration Department is about $424,176,
while the National Cemetery Administration’s budget was
$260.4 million for its functions and about 2000 hours of a full-
time equivalent.
Budgeting Assessment
Though the budget assessment is for FY2012, for a better
assessment of the budget, the assessment focuses on FY16 that
generated a lot of backlash. The magnitude of alterations made
from the 2015 budget allocated to the V.A was astonishing. The
momentous changes were mainly due to the change of priority
seats in the Senate changing from one political party to the
other (Veteran Subcommittee, 2015). The overall VA budget in
2015 was $163.9 billion. Though the funding allocated to VA
has gone up by about 68% from 2009, the spending coincided
with the ending of two wars, infrastructure that urgently
requires upgrading in both building upgrades and employees and
veterans who came back from Afghanistan and Iraqi wars that
were getting incorporated back in the system.
The House Appropriations Subcommittee in April 2016 marked
up the proposed FY2016 budget allocated to VA. The VA

endured several difficult times that led to the resignation of a
U.S Secretary of State, the death of veterans who did not have
access to healthcare due to secret lists, inadequate employees in
VA, and the appointment of another Secretary Robert McDonald
(VA, 2019). The House Appropriations Subcommittee issued
budget cuts amounting to a whopping $1.4 billion. Bob
McDonald, the VA secretary, vilified the budget cut terming the
budget FY2016 as insufficient to operationalize the reforms in
the department and outreach programs. Bob McDonald further
argued that the budget cut would appeal to the suffering of
veterans since only a small amount of the veteran population
has access to care (Shane, 2015). The budget cut advocated for
$690 million in VA healthcare, $582 million channeled to
construction projects, and the cessation of financing certain
national cemeteries. Although the cuts never seemed momentous
in the large budget scheme, the aftermath of the budget cuts
were: 18,000 fewer burial sites allocated to veterans and their
families. The removal of funding for medical facilities to
incorporate outpatient clinics, rehabilitation center and veteran
community assisted living centers. Finally, the medical cut
meant that only a few numbers of veterans could get access to
VA care, less staffing in VA facilities and delays in medical
research.
Analysis of Budgeting Plans and Actual Expenditures
Several factors have an important role in shaping and molding
the VA’s budget. Although the Intergovernmental Affairs office
was more conspicuous and reactive during the tenure of
President Obama, intergovernmental bodies have no primary
responsibilities when it comes to VA budgeting (VA, 2019).
People who influence the VA’s budget vary from Congress, the
President, Veterans service agencies, House Appropriations
Subcommittee, VA’s rank to veterans and taxpayers. The budget
of the VA is also impacted by the climate situation of the U.S
regarding the economic situation of the country, the party that
oversees the Executive branch, or in a war that may involve the

U.S.
Using recent occurrences as an example of how extensive the
VA budget can be influenced by any of the factors mentioned,
some of the factors can be discussed. Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee Chairman Bernie Sanders endorsed a bill that would
have removed the spending cap, which had been initially created
in a budget pact passed by both President Obama and Congress.
Costing nearly $20 billion, it was supported by both
Republicans and Democrats. However, when voting time
approached, 41 out of 45 Republicans in Congress cast their
ballot against the proposed bill (VA, 2019). Upon possible
approval of the bill, it could have seen the addition of 27 novel
medical centers to aid the already trained VA healthcare
centers. The bill was used by some individuals as a practical
game, as some Republicans made attempts to include some
sanctions against Iran in the bill that was proposed.
Implications of Foreign Policy
Overall, unlike other departments such as the Construction
Department, the VA Department is not affected by foreign
policies but depends on the factors aforementioned. The great
influencers are the president and Congress. For instance, in
2019 President Trump for FY2019 allocated a sum of $198.6
billion to the VA Department. The increase in the budget shows
the commitment of the president to ensure veterans get access to
high-quality care and quick access to benefits and services. The
passing of the budget depends on the relationship between
Congress and the president, in addition to the influence of
parties. Same to Obama's regime, the future of budget allocation
will depend on the president and the relationship between
Democrats and Republicans based on the party of the sitting
president.
Budget Request and Recommendations
The VA department aims at advocating for a 9.6% increase in

its budget allocation for the FY2020. President Trump has
shown great commitment to ensuring veterans receive proper
medical care. Unlike other Departments where Trump had
dismissed budget increments, the VA has continued to receive
increased support. To ensure this continues, my
recommendations would be for the VA to progressively increase
accountability to ensure all the money allocated is accounted
for. Both parties of Congress can achieve this through the
passing of the Veterans Administration Management
Accountability Act, which holds everybody accountable and
dismisses individuals implicated in unlawful practices. My
second recommendation is for the VA to invest in
modernization programs in medical delivery for veterans, the
establishment of Digital Health Platforms and creating a new
Financial Management System that would lead to an increase in
budget allocation for the VA.
Interview Forms
Name of Student
Division
Agency
VA
VA Department
VA
Name of Interviewed Person(s)
Interviewee’s Title
Dates of Interview
Subject

Question Topics
VA Department
The VA Department is in charge of ensuring the welfare of
veterans is addressed after they leave combat. Their main duty
is to ensure veterans and their families receive quality care.
They are in charge of overseeing transformations in the VA.
Welfare of Veterans
The VA Department is dedicated to providing quality
healthcare, service, and training to veterans. This can only be
achieved by ensuring constant budget allocation to the VA
department to improve benefits and services.
Future Plans
To increase budget allocation to VA so that proper medical call
care and IT training can be conducted to veterans.
Recommendations
VA needs to improve accountability and invest in modernized
technology systems
Reference
VA. Office of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs. (2019,
September 1). Veterans Affairs. Retrieved from
https://www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=4007.
Rugen, K. W., Watts, S. A., Janson, S. L., Angelo, L. A., Nash,
M., Zapatka, S. A., ... & Saxe, J. M. (2015). Veteran affairs
centers of excellence in primary care education: transforming
nurse practitioner education. Nursing Outlook, 62(2), 78-88.
Shane, L. (2015, April 21). VA secretary calls House budget
plan too small, harmful. Military Times, pp. 3-4. Springfield.
Va.
Veteran Subcommittee. (2015, June 14). Retrieved June 14,
2015, from https://veterans.house.gov/full-committee
Office of Budget. (2015, June 14). Retrieved December 14,
2019, from http://www.va.gov/budget/products.asp

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Evaluation of Agency’s Human Resources Management
Lauren Riley
Professor Andre Lee
December 13, 2019
Human Resource Processes
The Human Resources System of the Department of Veterans
Affairs consists of transforming the roles of human resources to
guarantee that Veteran Affairs individuals are allocated
different jobs according to their qualification, with the desired
competence and capabilities, with a genuine sense of individual
worth, and commitment to ensuring quality service delivery to
all people. The partnership between human resources and
administration offices with the human resource community to
formulate a strategic plan is the trigger for the process of
transformation (Kersten, 2018). The initial procedure in the
process is to enhance the establishments, execution, and
valuation of HR policies and protocols across the entire
department. This compromise transforms the direction and
requirements of the developed president, leadership at VA, and
the office of personnel management.
According to Pittman (2010), the step that follows the strategic
process is to make sure the human capital plans and strategies

of the VA are executed to address the goals, mission, and
objectives, in addition to being within the budget of the
department. This involves maintaining a coherent
communication channel, carrying out efficient planning
processes between the administration employees and HR and
skilled HR staffing across VA and adopting a single VA
approach when it comes to staffing. In addition, the VA
Performance plan includes their objectives and missions that
would assist in retaining staff, establish and retain a skilled,
committed, and diverse group of employees that offers a high-
quality service delivery to veterans and their families. It will
automate, standardize and integrate processes via an improved
information system framework. Moreover, the VA will enhance
the quality of design for the organization and position
management in addition to improving the uniformity and
consistency of classification decisions within the department.
Also, creating a web-based HR resource center, guarantees an
accessible online tool that managers in VACO and HR experts
can utilize to guarantee with the guidelines of VA and operation
management (Pittman, 2010). This will result in improved
consistency with decision making during position classification,
availability of PDs to rapidly and efficiently hire individuals for
open job positions, and to minimize incidences of classification
appeals. The VA must provide support programs to hire, recruit
and retain their most competent and qualified staff to drive its
mission. The VA must stay competitive with non-profit and
private industries when it comes to recruiting employees to
realize its strategic goals.
Implications of Human Resource Workforce
The workforce is the labor pool in employment. Skala (2017)
states that it implies the processes an organization undertakes to
ensure it has current and futures access to human labor required
to effectively run operations. A company achieves this by
recognizing existing and future employees it requires and
venturing into the most effective and cost-efficient technique to

hire and maintain personnel. An organization should also be
capable of reading trends in population. The American
workforce will progressively enlarge in size, however at a
relatively slower scale, unlike in the past. The VA Department
has a vision and mission for its personnel, which is grounded on
four standards of service. These include practicing
professionalism, kindness, organizational brilliance and safety.
In addition, the VA department has a site established to enhance
the process of recruiting new employees by automating the
paperwork process to the position and the individual has
chosen.
According to Coffey (2016), the diversity index of Veterans
gauges the convergence of an institution's collective workforce
ethnicity, race, and gender representation to civil labor forces.
An analysis was conducted by ODI to evaluate if the diversity,
inclusion, and commitment of an employee are associated with
the performance results for FY2015. The analysis established
that inclusion, diversity, and commitment of an employee are
directly linked to the overall performance of the organization.
These are essential requirements for quality, productivity and
customer satisfaction in addition to employee gratification.
Aside from the indices mention above, regularly ODI gives an
array of analyses of workforce diversity. At the end of FY 2016,
the workforce of VA summed up to 369741 personnel, a figure
which is comprised of a whopping 18352 non-permanent staff.
Succession Planning for Human Resource Management
According to Kersten (2018), succession planning guarantees
that an organization recruits highly competent personnel in all
departments for the current and future perspectives of the
organization. Succession planning entails comprehending both
short-term and long-term objectives and goals of an
organization, the ability to recognize the gaps in employee

developmental requirements, and evaluating the trends and
prediction of a workforce. The professional and managerial
skills used by the VA to enhance the workforce of the agency
are essential. Transformational leaders can enhance the
competency of the workforce. Managers have the duty of
organizing employees and workloads, and ensuring balance is
maintained.
Kersten (2018) states that a leader with transformational
leadership skills allow others to work effectively through
delegation of duties. This implies that a transformational leader
must show sensitivity to the abilities of junior staff, are aware
of the employee training needs, and precisely and coherently
communicate duties. Through this, the productivity of an
organization will start showing signs of improvement. Giving
appraisal to employees by managers may require them to
conduct frequent mentorship sessions, which demands managers
to engage in round table sessions with employees. Providing
other people with an opportunity to show their work prowess
implies establishing a work setting where employees feel free to
engage with managers on various issues such as voicing the
challenges experienced or acknowledging shortcomings, without
the sense of being judged. Furthermore, employees will be free
to allow their performance to be evaluated with the desire to
improve instead of censure.
According to Kersten (2018), the performance of an employee
must be properly managed by the supervisor if administrators of
an organization have the desire to realize their mission and
objectives. The most important component of a team leader or
supervisor is performance management. For the VA to improve,
it can launch programs such as performance management of
personnel, planning work, setting targets, supervising and
gauging performance, and establishing capacities for employees
to perform. To carry out efficient performance management,
specific proficiency competencies are required. Establishing and
upholding efficient communication channels between the

management and employees requires good written and oral
communication skills in addition to the capacity to create better
working relationships.
Wronka-Pospiech (2016) argues that organizations will benefit
in several ways if they focus more attention on instilling
performance management skills in their team leaders and
supervisors. The skills should be the basis of training and
development to warrant that the federal state can achieve its
mission in the 21st century. In the next few years,
approximately 60% of all federal employees will be eligible for
retirement. The vacuum created by these retiring individuals
lies in upper and middle management, with the supervision of
areas that demand a high level of professionalism. In the VA,
these vacant positions are challenging to fill; the learning curve
would be considered for those who do not have the experience.
The second-ranked proficiency is the capacity to establish
business plans and assess their standard deviation of feasibility.
An organization’s management must have the ability to convert
the mission of the organization into achievable objectives,
recognize the scale social enterprise activities and consider the
mission, goals, and resources of the agency in addition to the
tautness between economic and social requirements.
Job Analysis and Design
Job Title: Veterans Consultant
Having in mind this is a fulltime work occupation, a primary
specification for this job is to provide specialized help, to not
only veterans, but also their families in line with the benefits
provided by America’s Department of Veterans Affairs. It also
requires planning, coordinating and directing HR activities of
an institution to increase the strategic implementation of HR
and uphold responsibilities such as recruitment of personnel,
compensation of employees, employee policies, and regulatory
conformity. The job also requires analysis of compensation

laws, government control and existing salary rates to establish
an efficient compensation strategy. Performance evaluation
entails evaluating data against a set of standards and attesting to
the information being accurate. The VA department requires a
consultant who has energy, shows compassion, and is committed
to serving individuals who have proudly represented our
country. Despite the title a person holds, every positing within
the VA department provides a person with an opportunity to
make a substantial and individual contribution to the lives of
veterans.
Appendix
Interview Forms
Name of Student
Division
Agency
HR
HR Department
VA
Name of Interviewed Person(s)
Interviewee’s Title
Dates of Interview
Subject
Question Topics
HR Management
The HR and Administration office will supervise a centralized
HR governance strategy to oversee the execution of the plan.
Employee welfare
The VA Department is dedicated to providing equal

opportunities to all employees, encouraging diversity at works,
inclusion at the workplace, and comprehensively any emerging
conflict to ensure a smooth operation of the organization.
Besides, the VA does not accept any form of sexual harassment.
Imminent Plans
To offer proficient customer service, it is essential for Veteran
Affairs to comprehend the needs of veterans, and their families.
Recommendations
VA needs to focus more on improving employee management
performance.
Reference
Coffey, G. (2016). Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan for
2017-2020. United States Department of Veterans Affairs Office
of Human Resources and Administration. Six Outreach events
Skala, T. l. (2017). Bay Pines VA Healthcare System
Onboarding Process for New Employees VA. http://www.va.gov
Kersten, A. (2018). Predicting Employee Engagement: The
importance of Mindfulness, Transformational Leadership.
Pittman, R.A. (2010). Transforming VA’s Human Resource
Message from the Assistant Secretary. www.VA.Gov.org
Wronka-Pospiech, M. (2016). The Identification of Skills and
Competencies for Effective Management in Social Enterprises.
A Managerial Perspective. Management (1429-9321), 20(1), 40-
57. https://dpo/prg10.1515/manment-2015-0023

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