HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT


 


Introduction


Any organization, may it be profit oriented or not-for-profit, the most vital asset is its employees. And for these organizations to maximize their assets, they should manage the employees’ working condition with intelligence and efficiency (Ulrich, 1998). They must be allowed to be involved in making work-related decisions to further enhance the organizational structure (Delaney & Huselid 1996). Furthermore, the structure of tasks among the employees strengthens the organizational performance (Wilson 1989). It is therefore necessary to understand the employees for the organization to be effective. The development, building, motivation, enhancement and enrichment of the employees of any organization largely depend on the leadership, mandate and vision of the organization (Rainey & Steinbauer 1999).


Human Resources Development


According to McLagan (1996), HRD is the integrated use of training and development, career development, and organization development to improve individual effectiveness. However, the definition of HRD expanded beyond training and organization development. The move is toward HRD responsiveness and relevance.


 HRD remains an important force for the future. In her article on HRD competencies and future trends in HRD McLagan (1996) identified nine important roles for HRD practioners to perform: HR strategic advisor, HR systems designer and developer, organization change consultant, organization design consultant, learning program specialist, instructor/facilitator, individual development and career consultant, performance consultant and researcher. It is in these roles that HRD professionals are challenged to create new ways to address human resource issues.


HRD practitioners bring to the attention of the strategic decision makers issues and trends concerning an organization’s external and internal people. Another role involves designing and preparing HR systems for implementation so that HR systems and actions are mutually reinforcing and have maximum impact on organizational performance, development and endurance. HRD practitioners also facilitate the development and implementation of strategies for transforming organizations; identify the work required to fulfill organizational strategies. It also involves organizing the work so that it makes efficient and effective use of resources; identify learning needs to design and develop structured learning programs and materials in a variety of media formats for self-study and workshop or electronic delivery.


Moreover, HRD practitioners present information, lead structural learning experiences and facilitate group discussions and group processes; help employees assess their competencies, values and goals so they can identify, plan, and implement development actions; assist a group or individuals to add value in the workplace; assess HRD practices and programs and their impact empirically; and communicate results so that the organization and its people accelerate their change and development.


As HRD practitioners create rather than just respond, they will seek leverage and ways to help managers, teams, and individuals take charge of their own human resource practices. McLagan (1996) states that “HRD may be the only function in a clear position to represent human ethics and morality”.


Over the last decade and more, there have been two important trends in the field of HRD: first, to shift the focus of the field from training to a broader emphasis on improving organizational performance; and second, to integrate the various cousin disciplines making up the broad field of applied social and behavioral science into a more comprehensive theoretical framework. As a result, HRD is not just about training anymore (Clardy, 2002).


 


Based on the belief that the ultimate focus of HRD should be on organizational effectiveness, authors such as Gilley, Dean and Bierema (2001) seek to provide an integrating review of the various contributors to this now expanded discipline of HRD theory and practice. They identify three different “philosophical orientations” that are the bloodlines of today’s HRD: organizational learning, organizational performance, and organizational change. Each of these traditions represents a domain of professional practice, and each has its own foundation assumptions about the role, duties, and techniques of practice. According to Gilley, Dean and Bierema, (2001), no domain is more effective than the other but “each orientation provides a piece of the HRD puzzle” (p. 5).


 


Human Resources Management


Human Resource Management (HRM) concerns the management of people within organizations. It is commonly stated that an organization’s greatest assets are its people. Effective management of these people allows organizations to achieve their goals and objectives. For this reason, HRM is a fundamental element in many organizations around the world today. In an organization, workers are viewed as the greatest source of improvements. Workers who are managed correctly will take responsibility for their work, be committed to the organization, and have ownership of the service or product. Total quality management (TQM) writers argue that for an organization to be successful, work groups must be “empowered” to function as a self-directed team (Bowen & Lawler 1990, cited in Siegel 1996).


 


Organizational Development


According French and Bell, Jr. (1998) Organizational development is a long-term effort led and supported by top management, to improve an organization’s visioning, empowerment, learning, and problem-solving processes, through an ongoing, collaborative management of organizational culture-with special emphasis on the consultant-facilitator role and the theory and technology of applied behavioral science, including participant action research.  


Organizational Development focuses on various aspects of organizational life, aspects that include culture, values, systems and behavior. The goal of O.D. is to increase organizational effectiveness and organizational health, through planned interventions in the organization’s processes or operations. Most often, O.D. Services are requested when an organization is undergoing a process of change.


 


Conclusion


Employees are increasingly demanding change, choice, flexibility, and variety in their work; suggesting that with the de-layering of organizations and empowerment of individual employees, the future for both the organization and the individual lies in developing the value of the individual as human capital.


It is evident from the above discussion that HRD, HRM and OD are interrelated; these three fields focus on the development and management of people within an organization. The roles and functions of practitioners in these fields overlap. In developing an organization (OD), it is essential not only to manage its human resources (HRM) but also to develop its people’s overall wellbeing (HRD).


 


References


Bowen, D. E., and Lawler, E. 1990, Total Quality-Oriented Human Resources Management. Business Week, Carr, General Dynamics, Lareau, Schmidt and Finnigan, Carter. Organizational Dynamic p. 29-41, in Siegel, G. B. 1996, Job analysis in the TQM environment. Public Personnel Management, Vol. 25, pp 485+.


 


Clardy, A. (2002) Philosophy and Practice of Organizational Learning, Performance and Change. Personnel Psychology, Vol. 55, 2002


 


Delaney, J.T., and Huselid, M.A. 1996, The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Perceptions of Organizational Performance, Academy of Management Journal. 39, 949-69.


 


French, W. L. and Bell Jr., C. H. (1998) Organization Development: Behavior Science Interventions for Organization Improvement (6th Ed.). Washington: Prentice Hall.


 


Gilley, J. W., Dean, P. and Bierema, L. (2001) Philosophy and Practice of Organizational Learning, Performance and Change. Cambridge, MA: Perseus.


 


McLagan, Pat (1996) Great ideas revisited. Training & development, January, pp.60-65


Rainey, H.G., & Steinbauer, P. 1999, Galloping Elephants: Developing Elements of a Theory of Effective Government Organizations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 9, pp1-32.


 


Ulrich, D. 1998, Human Resource Champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results, Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press, 88.


Wilson, J.Q. 1989, Bureaucracy.  New York: Basic Books, 5.


 



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