Concept of HRD Essay

‘Dhanesh â€Å" Auto Inc. has been a major global manufacturer of automotive product. In December 2002, Lumax Industries acquired it. Headlight, side indicator and brakelight are among their leading products. One of the challenges that both the former Dhanesh Auto Inc. and the present Lumax Industries have faced is the fact that over half of their employees not regional employees. Lumax Industries executives recognised that there was a need for more company leaders with global expertise, as Lumax Industries then became a publicly traded company in February 2004. They wanted executives with expertise concerning issues in more than one country. They also wanted leaders who could help promote a â€Å"Seamless† organization, that is, an organization that had fewer boundaries between functions, business units – and countries. Dhanesh auto had already established an executive development program that it called the Business Leadership Program (BLP). This program was aimed at developing the top one percent of â€Å"promotable† employees. The BLP addressed issues such as global strategy, leadership style and behaviour, culture and organization capabilities. The program used various techniques during the formal training portion, including lectures, discussions, individual projects, case studies, and team building interactions. There was also an â€Å"action learning† module, where trainees worked on actual issues that the company was currently facing. Approximately thirty-five people at a time went through the BLP process. An assessment made by Lumax senior managers was that, in general, Lumax management did not have the level of global competency that was required to manage their increasingly global corporation. In particular, the company’s succession planning process had identified a sufficient gap between the global skills required and those possessed by their top managers. This led them to refocus their Global Leadership Program (GLP). This was also connected to their performance appraisal, professional development, and succession managerial management process. Questions: If you were part of the leadership development team at Lumax, what type of global issues would you like to see emphasised in the new GLP? What types of training methods do you; think might be appropriate for training top managers and executives? Why? Are there other things that you would include in addition to formal training? Increasingly more importance is given to â€Å"people† in organizations. This is mainly because organizations are realising of all assets. This emphasis can also be partly attributed to the new emerging values of humanism and humanisation. Moreover with the increased emphasis on creativity, and autonomy, which people are increasingly acquiring and enjoying in the society, the expectations of people are fast changing. People cannot be taken for granted any more. If you said â€Å"yes† to any of the above questions, you have been involved in some form of human resource development†. Organisation of all types and sizes, including schools, retail stores, government agneices, restaurants, and manufacturesrs have al least one thing in common: they must employ competent and motivated workers. The concept of HRD was formally introduced by Leonard Nodler in 1969 in a conference organised by the American Scoiety for Taining and Development. Leonard Nodler defined HRD as, â€Å"those learning experiences which are organised, for a specific time, and designed to bring about the possibility of behavioural changes†. Definitions: A comprehensive definition of a term provide clear understanding and scope of the subject. HRD’s main concern is the development of skill and abilities, knowledge and competencies of employees/ people. 1. According to TV Rao: A process by which the employees of an organisation are helped in a continuous planned way to: i)acquire and sharpen capabilities required to perform various functions associated with their present or expected future roles. ii)develop their general capabilities as individual and discover and exploit their own potentials for OD. iii)development an organisation culture. In HRD employees of an organisation are helped / motivated to acquire knowledge and competencies. 2. According to TN Chabbra: HRD is a continuous process to ensure the development of employee competencies, dynamics, motivation and effectiveness in a systematic and planned ways†. 3. According to Jon M. Werner: HRD can be defined as a set of systematic and planned activities designed by an organisation to provide its members with the opportunities to learn necessary skills to meet current and future job demands. 4. According to Jennifer Joy and David Megginson: HRD is the term we use to describe an integrated and holistic, conscious and proactive approach to changing work-related knowledge and behaviour, using a range of learning strategies and techniques. HRD activities should begin when an employee joins an organsiation and continue throughout his or her career, regardless of whether that employee is an exceutive or a worker on an assembly line, HRD programs must respond to job changes and integrate the long-term plans and strategies of the organisation to ensure the efficient and effective use of resources. Features of HRD On the basis of the above definitions, important featues of HRD may be summarised thus: a.HRD is a system: It is a system having several interdependent parts or subsystems such as procurement, appraisal, development etc. Change in any one subsystem leads to changes in other parts. For example, if there is a change in the promotion policy where seniority is replaced with merit, the chain reactions on affected individuals, unions shall have to be assessed – keeping the difficulties in framing acceptable guidelines regarding ‘merit’ in mind. b.HRD is a planned process: It is a planned and systematic way of developing people. Further, it is undertaken on a continuous basis. Learning, as we all know, is a life-long process and goes on and on. c.HRD involves development of competencies: Basically it tries to develop competencies at four levels. At the individual level, employees are made to realise the importance of playing their roles in tune with overall goals and expecitations of other people (regarding such roles). By enriching and redesigning jobs, the roles of employees are made more meaningful and interesting. At the interpersonal level, more stress is laid on developing relationships based on trust, confidence and help. At the group level, task forces, cross functional teams are created to cement inter-group realtions. At the organisational level, the organisation is made to nurture a ‘development climate’, where every effort is made to harnes human potential while meeting organisational goals. d.HRD is an interdisciplinary concept: HRD is an amalgamation of various ideas concepts, principles and practices drawn from a number of soft sciences. e. Learning is at the core of all HRD efforts. Four agents of development: (i) The person or role (ii) the immediate boss of the person (Dyad) (iii) HR Department (Group) (iv) the organisation. There are many strands to HRD, e.g., Personal developemnt; development for a current job on situation; development in or for new work settings; activites through which individual and organisational goals may be reconciled; and development leading to a better, fuller life for individuals, organisations and wider communities. In a way broad sense HRD may also be seen as ‘the capacity to incorporate learning into behaviour’. ACTIVITY: CREATE YOUR OWN DEFINITION OF HRD Take a few moments to think about your own position and scope for HRD by defining what HRD means to you. Start by writing ‘Human Resource Development’ in the centre of a landscape page, draw ten radiating lines and attach to each one a key word or short phrase you associate with the words in the centre. It can be illuminating to compare your own result with that of colleagues. What proportion you think you will have in common? _________________________________________________________________ HRD Goals and Beliefs The goal of HRD system is to develop: †¢the capabilities of each employee as an individual; †¢the capabilities of each individual in relation to his or her present role; †¢the capabilities of each employee in relation to his or her expected future role(s). †¢the dyadic relationship between each employee and his or her employer; †¢the team spirit and functioning in every organisational unit; †¢collaboration among different units of the organization; †¢the organization’s overall health and self-renewing capabilities, which in turn, increase the enabling capabilities of individuals, dyads, teams and the entire organization. The basic philosophy of HRD is based on certain beliefs. BELIEFS Human beings are capable of enlargement. Even ordinary mortals can produce extraordinary results. Common men can do uncommon things. Trust them, give them a chance and leave them on their own, with occasional help wherever needed. They not only grow but also help the organization realise its goals and progress. There will be amazing improvements in production, productivity and quality. †¢Human resources are the most important assets in the organization. †¢Human resources can be developed to an unlimited extent. Two plus two could be five, six or ten. †¢A healthy organisational climate (openness, trust, collaboration) is essential for developing human resources. †¢HRD can be planned and implemented to benefit both individuals and organizations. †¢ If the organization is able to inculcate a spirit of ‘belongingness’ in its employees, they will be more loyal and committed. †¢To ensure this healthy feeling, the organization has to provide for their basic as well as higher order needs through appropriate management styles and systems. †¢The commitment of employee increases when he / she is able to find opportunities to use his / her potential while at work. †¢The managers must clear the paths, create a development climate and help employees realise their full potential. †¢The higher the level of the manager the more attention should be paid to the HRD function in order to ensure its effectiveness. †¢The maintenance of a healthy working climate and the development of its human resources are the responsibilities of every organization. Why HRD HRD is needed by any organization that wants to grow continuously in the fast changing environment organizations can scale new heights only through the effective and efficient use of human resources. Appropriate personnel policies help maintain employee motivation and morale at a high level, but this alone may not help the organization achieve success and venture into new fields. To this end, employee capabilities must be continually trained, developed and expanded. The employees must be encouraged to take risks, experiment, innovate and make things happen in an atmosphere of mutual trust, goodwill and cooperation. â€Å"People need competencies to perform tasks. Higher degree and quality of performance of tasks requires higher levels or degrees of skills. Without continuous development of competencies in people, an organization is not likely to achieve its goals. Competent and motivated employees are essential for organizational survival, growth and excellence†. BENEFITS OF HRD 1.HRD improves the capabilities of people. They become innovative and enterprising-ever eager to take the risk and get ahead. It improves the all round growth of an employee. Feedback and guidance from superiors help employees grow continually and show superior performance. 2. HRD improves team work. Employees become more open and trust each other. The organizational climate too, improves a lot. 3.HRD leads to greater organizational effectiveness. Appropriate employee-centred policies help the organization achieve the goals more efficiently. 4.Performance related rewards help employees realize the importance of utilizing their skills fully in the service of organizational goals. The organization’s overall health and self-renewing capabilities, too, improve quite significantly. HRD MATRIX The HRD matrix shows the interrelationships between HRD instruments, processes, outcomes and organizational effectiveness. a.HRD instruments: These include performance appraisal, counselling, role analysis, potential development, training, communication policies, job rotations, rewards, job enrichment programmes, etc. These instruments may vary depending on the size of the organization, the internal environment, the support and the commitment of the top management, the competitive policies, etc. b.HRD process: The HRD instruments led to the generation of HRD of processes like role clarity, performance planning, development climate, risk-taking, and dynamism in employees. Such HRD processes should result in more competent, satisfied and committed people that would make the organization grow by contributing their best to it. c.HRD outcomes: HRD instruments and processes make people more c ommitted and satisfied, where they tend to give their best to the organization enthusiastically. d. Organizational effectiveness: Dimensions: such HRD outcomes influence the organizational effectiveness, which in turn, depends on a number of variables like environment, technology, competitors, etc.