Human Resource Development Unit 1 Introduction to HRD

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Human Resource Development Unit 1 Introduction to HRD

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Human Resource Development Unit 1 Introduction to HRD Notes cover all the exercise questions in UGC Syllabus. The Human Resource Development Unit 1 Introduction to HRD provided here ensures a smooth and easy understanding of all the concepts. Understand the concepts behind every Unit and score well in the board exams.

Introduction to HRD

1. Multiple choice question and answers:

(i) What is the scope of HRM?

(a) Training and development of employees for their growth.

(b) Maintenance of good industrial relations and workers’ high morale for higher productivity. 

(c) Further researches in behavioural science, new ideas in man, management and advances in the field of training and development.

(d) None of the above.

Ans: (c) Further researches in behavioural science, new ideas in man, management and advances in the field of training and development.

(ii) What is a decision in management?

(a) Reaching at a proper conclusion after consideration.

(b) A decision involves choosing of alternatives.

(c) A decision is the outcome of a group of people or an individual.

(d) None of the above.

Ans: (a) Reaching at a proper conclusion after consideration.

(iii) How can we understand the nature of human factor?

(a) Through determinants of human behaviour.

(b) According to the behaviour of people at work.

(c) The way the management influences an individual and a group.

(d) Through the study of human behaviour in organisation.

Ans: (b) According to the behaviour of people at work.

(iv) Who has said that HRM is not a one shot deal?

(a) Fayol.

(b) Taylor.

(c) Terry.

(d) McFarland.

Ans: (c) Terry.

(v) What are the major hurdles that require immediate action by HRM for the progress of Indian economy?

(a) Dishonesty and corruption.

(b) Lack of interest in work and production loss.

(c) Unemployment and poverty.

(d) Combating inflation and holding the price-line of essential commodities.

Ans. (c) Unemployment and poverty.

2. What is meant by the acronym HCM?

Ans: Human Capital Management.

3. Management development programs are concerned about the development of _______.

Ans: All personnel.

4. Mention two operative functions of Human Resource Management.

Ans: Two operative functions of human resource management are:

(a) Procurement of personnel.

(b) Development and training of personnel.

5. Mention two important changes which takes place in the field of Human Resource Management?

Ans: The two important changes in the field of human resource management are:

(a) Increase in the size of workforce.

(b) Changing composition of workforce.

6. Mention any two general objectives of Human Resource Management.

Ans: Two general objectives of human resource management are:

(a) Working relationship between employer and employees.

(b) Effective moulding of human resources.

7. State any four specific objectives of Human Resource Management?

Ans: The four specific objectives of human resource management are:

(a) Selection.

(b) Orientation.

(c) Training.

(d) Better working conditions.

8. What do you mean by Human Resource Development?

Ans: HRD is a system and process involving organised series of learning activities design to produce behavioural changes in human beings in such a way that they acquired desired level of competent for present and future role.

9. What is HRD position?

Ans: HRD refers to employee training, career development, performance development, mentoring, coaching, tuition assistance and other activities that are related to developing a workforce.

10. What is the role of HRD in an organization?

Ans: The role of human resource development is to support organizational goals. The cost and time associated with development and training of employees are only worth it if it directly helps the employees achieve increased performance, resulting in increased performance for the organization.

11. What is the top position in HR?

Ans: Sometimes referred to as the Chief HR Officer, the VP of Human Resources is the highest HR position in a company.

12. Give a difference between HRM and HRD?

Ans: The main focus of HRM is on enhancing skills and increasing efficiency of people in the organization whereas HRD is based on the concept of building up the right organizational climate that could discover, nurture and utilize human capabilities in an optimum manner.

13. What is the primary goal of HRD?

Ans: The purpose of HRD is to enhance learning, human potential, and high performance in work-related systems and contribute to sustainable human development. Performance is defined as the outcomes or achievements that result from goal-directed work system behaviour.

14. How many types of HR are there?

Ans: Outside of compensation and benefits, there really are only three types of HR professionals: the party planners, the attorneys, and the business people.

15. What is salary in HRM? Mention two functions of HRM.

Ans: Salary is defined as the decided monetary amount that an employer offers an employee in lieu of the services offered by the employee. All these comprise of the total salary structure of an employee.

Two HRM function are:

(i) Recruitment and selection: Recruitment of candidates is the function preceding the selection, which brings the pool of prospective candidates for the organisation so that the management can select the right candidate from this pool.

(ii) Job Analysis and Design-job analysis is the process of describing the nature of a job and specifying the human requirements like qualification, skills, and work experience to perform that job. Job design aims at outlining and organising tasks, duties, and responsibilities into a single unit of work for the achievement of certain objectives.

16. What is the supervisor role in HRD? Explain the various significance or importance of HRD.

Ans: Supervisors play a critical role in implementing many HRD programs and processes. Many organizations rely on line supervisors to implement HRD programs and processes such as orientation, training, coaching, and career development. Especially in smaller organizations, there may be no training department (or even an HR department), so most HRD efforts fall upon supervisors and managers.

HRD plays a vital role in the success and growth of an organisation in the following ways:

(i) HRD improves team work. Employees become more open towards each other and they also trust each other. In this way the organisational climate also improves a lot.

(ii) HRD promotes organisational effectiveness. Appropriate employee centered policies help the organisation achieve its goal more efficiently.

(iii) Performance related rewards help employees realise the importance of utilising their skills fully in the service of organisational goals. The organisation’s health and self renewing capabilities improve quite significantly.

(iv) HRD helps the organisation in procuring the right people at the right time and in making their effective use.

(v) HRD generates a lot of useful data which facilitates human resource planning and control.

(vi) HRD improves the capabilities of the people by making them better aware of the skills required for job performance and by improving clarity about performance standards.

17. What are the elements of HRD?

Ans: There are three fundamental component areas of human resource development (HRD): individual development (personal), career development (professional), and organizational development.

18. Write a short note on HCM.

Ans: The full form of HCM is Human Capital Management. Human capital management (HCM) is a set of practices related to people resource management. These practices are focused on the organizational need to provide specific competencies and are implemented in three categories: workforce acquisition, workforce management, and workforce optimization. Human Capital management refers to managing an organization’s employees for them to contribute significantly in the overall productivity of the organization. In a layman’s language managing the workforce of an organization refers to human capital management. Human Capital Management is defined as the process of acquiring, training, managing, retaining employees for them to contribute effectively in the processes of the organization. In simpler words, upgrading the existing skills of an employee and extracting the best out of him/her refers to human capital management.

19. State the features of HRD.

Ans: The following are the features of HRD: 

(i) Planned and systematic approach.

(ii) Continuous process.

(iii) Interdisciplinary approach.

(iv) Both micro and macro aspects.

20. Mention the two levels of HRD.

Ans: The two levels of HRD are:

(i) Micro level.

(ii) Macro level.

21. Mention some of the instruments or mechanisms of HRD.

Ans: The instruments or mechanism of HRD are:

(i) Performance and potential appraisal.

(ii) Counselling and monitoring.

(iii) Quality of working life.

(iv) Quality circle.

(v) Development of team work.

(vi) Training.

22. Write any two qualities of a good HR manager?

Ans: The two qualities of a good personnel manager are:

(a) Sense of social responsibility.

(b) Capacity of leadership.

23. Explain the need for human resource development?

Ans: Need for HRD are:

(a) Changes in Economic Policies in 1991.

(b) Changing Job Requirements.

(c) Need for Multi-skilled Human Resources.

(d) Organizational Complexity.

(e) Human Relations.

(f) Organizational Viability and Transformation Process.

(g) Technological Advances.

1. Mention five essential features of Human Resource Management.

Ans: The five essential features of personnel management are as follows:

(i) It is a management of human resources of the enterprise.

(ii) It is concerned with the effective utilisation of human resources.

(iii) It is a staff activity requiring special knowledge and skill in human psychology, law and industrial relations.

(iv) It is concerned with the achievement of common goals.

(v) The principles and functions of general management are applicable to this area of management also.

2. What is human resource development? Highlight the points why HRD is essential?

Ans: Human Resource Development is the continuous process of improving the capabilities required to achieve organizational and individual goals. It is a broader concept than Human Resource Management. Generally, it consists of several sub-systems such as appraisal; counselling. training, rewards, and welfare, quality of work life, etc.

It is also most important for the welfare of both the employees and employer. In simple words, HRD is an organized learning experience aimed at matching the organizational need for human resource with the individual need for career growth and development.

The discipline of Human Resource Development (HRD) was developed because the Human Resource Management has failed to meet the new challenges of the 20 century. The first workshop of HRD was held in 1979. A National HRD Network has been established in 1985. Now several public and private sector organizations have HRD department and HRM managers.

While introducing HRD is any organisation the following requirements must be fulfilled:

(i) An urge and desire on the part of human resource in the organisation to find better methods of work.

(ii) Requisite skill, attitudes and ability in the persons engaged in HRD.

(iii) Proper support between the HRD team /department and the key persons in the organisation.

(iv) Removal of hurdles and irritants from the organisation affecting productivity of the employees.

(v) Involvement of the employees of the organisation to get a lot of unwritten information for understanding the dynamics of the organisation for developing a HRD programme.

(vi) The need for suggesting the introduction of only such indigenous methods which can be implemented by the HRD section without much cost and resistance. Besides, the need for technical consideration may also be kept in mind.

(vii) Strengthening of human resource information system to keep continuous track of every employee and use performance appraisal, training etc. to inject change in the desired direction.

(viii) HRD to be successful needs revolution in the total concept of management and not merely sporadic and piece meal attempts.

3. Give the differences between Human Resource Management and Human Resource Development.

Ans: The difference between Human Resource Management and Human Resource Development are as follows:

4. What are the two models of HR? What are the problems of Human Resource Management in relations to multinational companies?

Ans: Two HR models are:

(i) The hard and soft HRM models: Storey distinguished between the ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ versions of HRM. He wrote that: ‘The hard one emphasizes the quantitative, calculative and business-strategic aspects of managing human resources in as “rational” a way as for any other economic factor. By contrast, the soft version traces its roots to the human- relations school; it emphasizes communication, motivation and leadership. 

However, it was pointed out by Keenoy that ‘hard and soft HRM are complementary rather than mutually exclusive practices”. Research in eight UK organizations by Truss indicated that the distinction between hard and soft HRM was not as precise as some commentators have implied. Their conclusions were as follows.

(ii) Contextual model of HRM: The contextual model of HRM emphasizes the importance of environmental factors by including variables such as the influence of social, institutional and political forces that have been underestimated in other models. The latter, at best, consider the context as a contingency variable. The contextual approach is broader, integrating the human resource management system in the environment in which it is developed. According to Martin-Alcázar: ‘Context both conditions and is conditioned by the HRM strategy.’

A broader set of stakeholders is involved in the formulation and implementation of human resource strategies that is referred to by Schuler and Jackson as a ‘multiple stakeholder framework’. These stakeholders may be external as well as internal and both influence and are influenced by strategic decisions.

The following are the problems:

(i) Danger for Domestic Industries: The domestic industry is in capable of facing the challenge of the multinational companies because they possess huge financial resources. Some weak companies have simply to wind up their business.

(ii) Repatriation of profits: These companies earn huge profits. They carry these profits to their country. This adversely affects the Foreign Exchange Reserve of the host country. It means a large amount of foreign exchange goes out of the country.

(iii) Intervention in Local Parties: The multinational companies establish their supremacy on the under-developed countries simply because of their immensely favourable position. First of all these companies help the government in a number of ways and gradually start interfering in the process of government decision making. Such a situation is never comfortable for any country.

(iv) Exploitation of Natural Resources: The multinational companies use the natural resources of the host country very carelessly. This improper use of the valuable natural resources of the country is harmful.

(v) No Benefit to poor people: These companies are generally set up in the under-developed or developing countries. The people of these countries are mostly poor, but these companies produce only those things which are used by the rich. These products include cosmetics, soft drinks, Chocolates, etc. Therefore, the majority of the people in the country do not get any benefit from these companies.

5. Write two Advantages of computerised HRMS.

Ans: The benefits of a computerised human resource management system are:

(a) Increased access to HR data.

(b) Streamlined and standarized processes.

(c) More consistent and accurate data.

(d) A higher internal profile for HR.

6. Discuss the evolution and growth of HRM in India?

Ans: Modern personnel management has emerged through many stages, which may be explained as follows:

(i) The Commodity Concept: Before the industrial revolutions GUILD SYSTEM was in operation, which was the beginning of personnel management. Industrial revolution, gave rise to the factory system, as a result, the place of work shifted from residence to factory and the management became separate from ownership. The close relationships between employees and owners were broken. Labour began to be considered as a commodity to be bought and sold. Govt. did very little to protect the workers.

(ii) The Factor of Production Concept: Under the factor of production concept, employees were considered a factor of production just like land, materials and machines. The employees were considered as mere operators of machines. However, this concept was an improvement over the commodity concept in so far as employees gained better working condition and earnings.

(iii) The Paternalistic Approach: The paternalistic approach was based on the belief that management must assume a fatherly and protective attitude towards employees. Paternalism does not mean merely providing benefits but it means satisfying various needs of the employees as parents meet the requirements of the children. Employers began to provide welfare schemes to workers e.g. health facilities, pension plans, group insurance schemes etc. In this stage both employers and employees both began to realise that they cannot survive and prosper without each other.

(iv) The Humanitarian Concept: The humanitarian concept is based on the belief that employees had certain inalienable rights as human beings and it was the duty of the employers to protect these rights. To improve productivity, physical, social and psychological needs of the employees must be met. This approach is known as human relations concept.

(v) The Behavioural Human Resource Concept: The human resource concept was based on the belief that employees are the most valuable assets of an organisation. Efforts should be made to integrate employees with the organisation so that organisational goals and employees aspiration could be achieved simultaneously.

(vi) The Emerging Concept: The emerging concept aims at creating a feeling among workers that the organisation is their own. Employees should be accepted as partners in the progress of the organisation. To this end, management must offer better quality of working life and offer opportunities to people to exploit their potential fully.

Thus, personnel management started from a stage where employees were considered problems. Procedures and costs reached a stage where employees are looked upon as a resource, an asset and an opportunity.

7. Write in brief the future challenges of Human Resource Management. What is the importance of Human Resource Management in industrial undertaking?

Ans: The future challenges of human resource management are divided into three categories:

(a) Organisation Level Challenges:

They includes:

(i) Integration of manpower plans with corporate plans.

(ii) Task of motivating executives due to reduced promotional opportunities.

(iii) Integration of change techniques.

(iv) Task of keeping the organisation young and productive.

(v) Development of an organisational structure.

(b) Challenges at Personnel Management Departments Level: 

They includes:

(i) Developing personnel policies.

(ii) Research orientation.

(iii) Process orientation.

(iv) Evolving a participative approach and maintaining a high level of reputation.

(c) Challenges at Work Place Level:

They includes:

(i) Task of adapting work place to rapid technological changes.

(ii) Problem of non-performers.

(iii) Problem of grievance management.

(iv) Emergence of socio-psychological needs.

Importance of personnel management is in reality the importance of labour functions of personnel department which are indispensable to the management activity itself. Because of the following reasons personnel management holds a place of importance.

(a) It helps management in the preparation, adoption and continuing evolution of personnel programmes and policies.

(b) It supplies skilled workers through scientific selection process.

(c) It ensures maximum benefit out of the expenditure on training and development and appreciates the human asset.

(d) It prepares workers according to the changing needs of industry and environment.

(e) It motivates workers and upgrades them so as to enable them to accomplish the organisational goals.

(f) Through innovation and experimentation in the field of personnel, it helps in reducing costs and helps in increasing productivity.

(g) It contributes a lot in restoring the industrial harmony and healthy employer-employee relations. 

(h) It establishes mechanism and the administration of personnel services that are delegated to the personnel department.

8. Why is Human Resource Management important in an organisation? Discuss briefly.

Ans: The main purpose of human resource management is to accomplish the organisational goals. Therefore, the resources are mobilised to achieve such goals.

Some importance and objectives of human resource management are as follows:

(a) Effective Utilisation of Resources: Human resource management ensures the effective utilisation of resources. HRM teaches how to utilize human and non-human resources so that the goals can be achieved. Organisation aiming to utilize their resources efficiently invites the HR department to formulate required objectives and policies.

(b) Development of Human Resources: Human resource management provides favourable environment for employees so that people working in an organisation can work creatively. This ultimately helps them to develop their creative knowledge, ability and skill. To develop personality of employees, human resource management organization training and development campaigns which provides an opportunity for employees to enhance their calibre to work.

(c) Goal Harmony: Human resource management bridges the gap between individual goal and organizational goal-thereby resulting into a good harmony. If goal difference occurs, the employees will not be willing to perform well. Hence, a proper match between individual goal and organisational goal should be there in order to utilise organisational resources effectively and efficiently.

(d) Employee Satisfaction: Human resource management provides a series of facilities and opportunities to employees for their career development. This leads to job satisfaction and commitment. When the employees are provided with every kind of facilities and opportunities, they will be satisfied with their work performance.

(e) Employee Discipline and Moral: Human resource management tries to promote employee discipline and moral through performance based incentives. It creates a healthy and friendly working environment through appropriate work design and assignment of jobs.

9. Define Personnel Management. What are its characteristics?

Or

Explain the meaning and nature of personnel management. 

Ans: There is no standard definition of the term ‘Personnel Management’. Different writers have given different definitions of the term.

A few definitions are as follows:

(i) According to Dale Yoder, “Personnel management effectively describes the processes of planning and directing the application, development and utilisation of human resources in employment.”

(ii) Prof. E.F.L. Brech defined the term ‘Personnel Management’ in the following words-“Personnel Management is that part of management process which is primarily concerned with the human constitution of an organisation.

(iii) Indian Institution of Personnel Management define Personnel Management as follows, “Personnel management is that part of management function which is primarily concerned with the human relationship within the organisation.”

Nature or Characteristics of Human Resource Management: From the various definitions of personnel management, we may list following characteristics of personnel management:

(a) A specialised branch of general management: Personnel management is a part of the general management and therefore all the principles of management are applicable to this also. Personnel management is a central and pervasive subsystem of all organisations.

(b) Management of human resources: Personnel management is management of personnel i.e., human resources. Personnel management includes the functions of employment, training and development, welfare and compensation. These functions are usually performed by the personnel department in consultation with the officials of other departments.

(c) A pervasive function: Personnel management is a pervasive function of management. Personnel management is performed by all managers at various levels in the organisation. As Fredrick R. Kappel observed, “Personnel management is not something you turnover a personnel department staff. Since all decisions in an organisation are made by human beings and are put into consideration or operation by human beings, all activities have a human aspect and therefore a personnel aspect.” Personnel management is not a function of personnel department alone, it is a function of all departments of the organisation.

(d) Employees as individual and group: Personnel management is concerned with employees both as individuals and also as a group. It establishes relationship between 

(i) employer and employees and also between. 

(ii) employees and employees. 

The term employees includes all types of employees whether at lower level or top level e.g. workmen, craftsmen, operators (low level), departmental managers (middle management) or general manager or chief executive (top level) etc.

(e) Development of employees: Personnel managements concerned with helping employees to develop their potential abilities fully. Personnel management consider the development of individuals at work, as an individual and as a member of the group. Personnel policies, are designed in the manner so that intrinsic abilities of the employees may be developed to the best use of the organisation.

(f) A technique of thinking: Personnel management is an approach, a point of view, a technique of thinking and a philosophy of management. The whole philosophy of personnel management is that labour is a human being, an humanly treatment should be given to them.

(g) Based on principles: Management of workforce is a difficult job. Here, the subject matter consists of human beings whose attitudes and behaviour do not confirm to any set pattern. Each individual worker has his own attitudes, beliefs and temperament make up. Personnel management is based on certain well-defined principles which have been evolved after a great deal of research and experimentation.

(h) A never-ending process: Personnel management as a function needs to be performed on a continuous basis. It involves the delicate function of management of human relations. Moreover, it is to be continuously attended to and nurtured like a delicate plant.

10. What are the various functions of Human Resource Management?

Or

Explain the functions of Personnel Management.

Ans: The functions of personnel management may be divided into two parts. Managerial functions and operative functions.

These are as follows:

(a) Managerial functions: General management and personnel management are one and the same. Basic managerial functions — planning, organising, directing and controlling — are common to all managers including personnel managers and are performed by all of them.

Following are the managerial functions of personnel management:

(i) Planning: It is the main function of management. It is concerned with manpower planning, studying labour turnover rate, forecasting the future requirements of personnel and planning for selection and training procedures, etc. After determining how many and what type of people are required, a personnel manager has to devise ways and means to motivate them.

(ii) Organising: It involves the establishment of inter-relationships within organisation. By identifying the various sub-groups headed by individuals in managerial jobs as well as operative jobs, it provides a structure for the company.

(iii) Directing: Directing is concerned with initiation of organised action and stimulating the people to work. It includes issuing instruction to the workers, developing communication network, interpreting various industrial laws and integrating workers. The personnel manager directs the activities of people of the organisation to get its function performed properly.

(iv) Controlling: Controlling is concerned with the regulation of the activities in accordance with the plans. Controlling completes the managerial cycle and leads back to planning. It provides basic data for establishing standards, makes job analysis and performance appraisal etc. All these techniques assist ineffective control of the qualities, time and efforts of workers. Controlling also helps the personnel manager to evaluate the performance of the personnel department in doing various operative functions.

(b) Operative functions: Operative functions are those functions which are entrusted to the personnel department Such functions are of the routine nature. These are concerned with procurement, development, compensation, integration and maintenance of the personnel of the organisation. Following are the important operative functions of personnel department.

(i) Procurement of personnel: It is the first operative function of personnel management. It is concerned with the obtaining of the proper kind and number of personnel necessary to accomplish organisational goals.

It deals specifically with such subjects as:

(a) Determination of manpower requirements.

(b) Job analysis and job-grading.

(c) Determining the nature and sources of recruitment.

(d) Selecting/selection of employees.

(e) Placement and orientation.

(ii) Training and development of personnel: After the placement of employees on various jobs the next function of the personnel management is to give them training. In this process various techniques of training are used to develop the employees. Framing a sound promotion policy, determination of the basis of promotion and making performance appraisal are the elements of personnel development function.

(iii) Compensation to personnel: Compensation means determination of adequate and equitable remuneration of personnel for their contribution to organisation objectives. To determine the monetary compensation for various jobs is one of the most difficult and important function of the personnel management. A number of decisions are taken into the function viz. job evaluation, remuneration policy, incentive (motive), and premium plans, bonus policy and co-partnership etc. It also assists the organisation for adopting the suitable wages and salaries policy and payment of wages and salaries in right time.

(iv) Integration or human relations: The maintenance and promotion of harmonious relations between employees working in different departments and between the employees and management is a function of personnel department. The personnel department has to ensure a reasonable reconciliation of the interest of the personnel with that of organisation. The personnel manager must provide an efficient system of communication. He should be in touch with the grievances of the people at work and try to remove them. In all circumstances, he should try to maintain proper discipline in the organisation.

(v) Maintenance of personnel: Maintenance of personnel means to keep the workers engaged on the work with full loyalty to their jobs and to the organisation. This functions involves provisions of better working conditions and labour welfare activities such as medical benefits, housing facilities, canteens, recreational facilities, rest rooms etc.

11. Explain the qualities of a Human Resource manager for making an efficient personnel department. How can the efficiency of the personnel department be judged? 

Ans: Personnel manager is one of the many specialist who has been appointed in the organisation as a result of the growth of the organisation.

He is assigned the personnel functions like recruitment, selection, wage and salary administration, promotion etc.

For a personnel manager the qualities of character and personality are more important than knowledge. It is difficult to state the elements which should be there in personality of a successful personnel manager. However, some of the important qualities required in any successful personnel manager are as follows:

(i) Sense of vocation: The jobs of the personnel manager are so heavy that they cannot be carried out without some sense of vocation. The personnel manager must have faith in humanity and also in the possibility of creating a better social and industrial order.

(ii) Sense of social responsibility: Industry is a part of the society. Its success depends upon the effective cooperation of the people working in the organisation. The personnel manager must appreciate people of the organisation as social groups and social units. He must deal with them in the social background of the business.

(iii) Capacity of leadership: The personnel manager has a dual role, to advise the management on human problems and to exercise leadership in many matters affecting the workers. He should be ready to face opposition and to speak without fear from any level of management and to any group of workers.

(iv) Personal integrity: Personnel manager must be a man who can be trusted completely so that all people of the organisation may come to him with the worries and problems. He is concerned with human relations problems more than anybody else in the organisation. So, he should be a man of great integrity.

(v) Capacity for persuasion: This is the intellectual side of leadership. The personnel manager has to persuade his fellow managers. In negotiations, the personnel manager should not make any hesitation. He should have the patience to persuade the employes in the desired direction.

(vi) Dynamic personality: Besides above mentioned qualities, the personnel manager should possess a dynamic personality with following characteristics:

(a) Spontaneity of speech: Readiness and fluency combined with a good knowledge of words are essential for a personnel manager. Ability to express oneself in accurate terms avoid misunderstanding.

(b) Public speech: It is often a necessity in the working life of a personnel manager.

(c) Face expression: Mobility of facial expression is also important for a personnel manager because it will help him in dealing with the people more efficiently.

(d) Courtesy and social awareness: The personnel manager is actually the human relations manager. He has to speak to people of all grades and ranks, trade union leaders, members of the Board of Directors. For all these occasions he is better equipped if he possesses a sense of courtesy and social awareness.

(e) Personal dignity: A personnel manager should be able to mix with the people and yet not to be one of them. His job is bigger than himself and this fact must be the measure of his action.

In the ultimate analysis, the socio-cultural background of the personnel manager, his own philosophy of life, his aspirations, his personality and character would have a crucial bearing on his role and functioning in the organisation.

12. Explain the procedure for implementation of HRD.

Ans: Implementation of HRD involves the following aspects of management:

(i) Commitment of the Management and Staff to HRD: HRD can be successfully implemented only when personnel in an organisation, both at the top and lower levels, have understood the implications of HRD and desire its introduction for better performance. Such understanding on the part of management and staff would result in commitment.

(ii) Specific Action Plan Strategy: For the implementation of HRD a time bound plan should be developed by the management. Techniques like PERT/CPM may be used in this context. The strategy should be designed in terms of goals and objectives.

(iii) Building Morale and Motivation Among the Members of an Organisation: Management of an organisation must have belief that personnel in an organisation are the key to development. This requires proper motivation of the employees which provides a base for the management functions of planning and organising. A climate of creativity must be developed and maintained by the managements.

(iv) Counselling and Mentoring: The management must provide proper counselling and mentoring to its employees. The main purposes of this exercise is to help the employees scientifically to be sensitized to then potential, their strengths and weaknesses.

(v) Developing Team Work: Developing team work is another essential for the implementation of HRD. Team work requires among other things, that the members have an image of their own team mates, which coincides as precisely as possible with reality.

(vi) Creating Effective HRD Climate: HRD climate creates interest and motivation among the employees to stay long in an organisation. It creates growth opportunities and recognition. Its success is vitally based on top management’s confidence in employees which will propel them to take initiative and meet challenging responsibilities for the organisation.

(vii) Developing Emotional Intelligence: A large number of surveys have shown that emotions of the employees play a significant role in determining their output. Actions that spring from the emotional mind carry a particularly strong sense of certainty that cannot be justified or explained by the rational mind. Therefore, HRD should focus on enhancing the emotional intelligence of the organisation.

(viii) Imparting need based and on going training: The ultimate goal of training is improving work ethics of employees for raising the standards of organisational performance. Training is an investment in the HRD process which gives dividends both in short run and long run. An organisation can do better if it invests in technology development and improvement of human systems. Training is essential for both of them.

(ix) Emphasis on Excellence: HRD must lay emphasis on excellence. Excellence is a state of mind which prepares the employees to perform their duties with dedication. It also creates self reliance and helps them to have a vision and an urge to do better and better.

(x) Replacing Rigidity with Flexibility: HRD machinery must be flexible and be able to respond quickly and effectively to a changing environment, as rigid and inflexible systems will not be able to deal with changing situations.

13. Explain the qualities of a HRD manager for making an efficient development programme.

Ans: Some qualities and qualification which will be applicable in general are as described below:

(a) Personal Attributes: The personal function gives us some idea of the qualities, which a successful HRD manager must possesses. 

Some of these qualities are as follows:

(i) Decisiveness: The HRD manager should have analytical, ability, sound judgement, foresight etc.

(ii) Intelligence: Like any other manager, a HRD manager must be intelligent.

(iii) Communicative Skills: The HRD manager should have command over language, ability to express correctly, ability to explain etc.

(iv) Educational Skills: HRD manager should possesses learning and teaching skills as he has to learn and teach employees about the organisational development, need etc.

(v) Executing Skills: HRD manager should have adequate executing skills which refer to ability to implement policies and programmes speedily and accurately.

(b) Experienced and Training: Training in industrial psychology, labour legislation and industrial relations is very useful for a HRD manager. Previous experience in an advantage provided the experience was in an appropriate environment and in the same area.

(c) Professional Attitudes: Keeping the diversity and elasticity of the HRD manager’s job in mind, the following educational qualifications may be necessary to achieve success, in addition to the qualities already discussed:

(i) Degree from a recognised university.

(ii) Post graduate degree/diploma in HRM/ HRD/ Labour/ Welfare/Social work/Psychology/Industrial relations/MBA with specialisation in HRM.

(iii) Degree in law (desirable/additional qualification). 

(iv) Knowledge of local language.

14. Comment on the emerging issues in the Human Resource Management?

Ans: Human resource managers have to face more problems in the management of labour because of the changing business environment. All the elements of business environment viz; socio-cultural, economic, technological, and political are continuously changing, as a result the nature and scope of human resource management is also changing. In the initial stages of development, it was known as labour relations, then it became personnel management and most recently it has changed to human resource management. The human resource managers may find themselves obsolete in future if they do not update themselves. The human resource managers are acquiring status and power, particularly in large organisations. There was a time, when personnel function was considered as a dumping ground for executive misfits, but now the position of personal manager is considered next to the chief executive.

Some of the important changes which are taking place in the field of human resource management are as follows:

(i) Increase in the size of workforce.

(ii) Changing composition of workforce.

(iii) Increase in education levels.

(iv) Technological advancement. 

(v) Changes in political environment.

(vi) Changes in legal environment.

(vii) Changes in psycho-social system.

(viii) Computerised information system.

(ix) Mobility of professional and technical workforce.

(x) Organisational development.

(xi) New work ethics.

(xii) New personnel policies.

(xiii) Development planning

(xiv) Industrial relations.

Management of human relations in the future will have to face new challenges and take, up new responsibilities. Thus, the job of human resource managers will be even more complicated in future. The managers will have to treat human resources as vital instruments in achieving the goals of the organisations. Instead of autocratic leadership there will be participative leadership. Human relations approach will be used to deal with employees and trade unions. Emphasis will shift from legal and rule bound approach to open and humanitarian approach. Money will no longer be the sole motivating force for majority of the workers. Non-financial incentives will also play an important role in motivating the workforce. In short, human resources will be treated as assets in future and like other assets they will also appear in the balance sheets of the business organisations.

15. Discuss the perspective of International Human Resource Management?

Ans: Perspective influences practices. The perspective of international human resource management will differ from the indigenous one, the delineation of the former seems in the fitness of the context. The major factors that form perspective for international human resource management and, in turn, influence human resource management practices are scanned as cultural, economic, political, labour cost and industrial relations.

These are discussed as follows:

(i) Cultural Factors: Culture means shared beliefs, values, norms, and moral by the people. Organisational culture means a pervasive underlying set of beliefs, assumptions, values, shared feelings and perceptions, which influence the behaviour of people in the organisation. The same distinguishes one organisation from another. Similarly, at macro level too, wide ranging cultural differences exist across the nations/ countries. This is the first and foremost factor that form perspective for international business.

(ii) Economic conditions/Factors: Like cultural differences, there abound economic differences among nations/countries. Differences in economic conditions or systems cause intercountry differences in human resource practices.

(iii) Labour Cost Factors: Human resource practices are also influenced by differences in labour costs existed in different countries. If the labour cost is high, it can require more focus on labour efficiency which, in turn, can influence human resource practice to shift toward improving labour performance. Labour may get remuneration as per performance i.e., pay- for- performance, Evidences are available to mention the intercountry differences in labour costs. Labour cost is quite more United Kingdom than in India.

(iv) Labour relations factors: Labour relations or industrial relations i.e., relationship between employees, employers and the government that vary from country to country and have an enormous bearing on affecting human resource practices. For example, in Germany, co-determination is the rule. Here, the employees enjoy legal right to have their voice in the matters of their company. On the other hand, in India and many countries, the states has its role to play in the relations between employees and employers. As seen above, wide inter-country differences in culture, economic systems, labour costs, and industrial relations systems affect human resource practices, Hence, human resource managers need to consider these impacts and evolve human resource practices for business operations conducted globally. The subsequent section deals with the same.

16. Write a short note on the introduction of HRD.

Ans: The effective performance of an organisation depends not just on the available resources, but its quality and competence as required by the organisation from time to time. The difference between two nations largely depends on the level of quality of human resources.

Similarly, the difference in the level of performance of two organisations also depends on the utilisation value of human resources. Moreover, the efficiency of production process and various areas of management depend to a greater extent on the level of human resources development.

HRD assumes significance in view of the fast changing organisational environments and need of the organisation to adopt new techniques in order to respond to the environmental changes.

Human Resource Development (HRD) is that part of Human Resource Management which specifically deals with the training and development of employees. It helps the employees in developing their knowledge, skills and abilities to achieve self-fulfilment and aid in the accomplishment of organizational goals.

HRD can be defined as organized learning activities arranged within an organization in order to improve performance and/or personal growth for the purpose of improving the job, the individual, and/or the organization.

HRD includes the areas of employee training, career development, performance management, coaching, mentoring, key employee identification, talent development and organization development. Developing a highly productive and superior workforce is the aim of HRD activities.

The role of human beings in an organization’s success is deeply recognized. Many formal and informal methods are used for developing the employees. HRD strives for the improvement of not just the individual workers, but for the growth of the group and organization as a whole.

17. State the meaning of Human Resource Development (HRD).

Ans: HRD is the process of helping people to acquire competencies. In an organizational context HRD “is a process which helps employees of an organization in a continuous and planned way to-

(i) Acquire or sharpen capabilities required to perform various functions associated with their present or expected future roles.

(ii) Develop their general capabilities as individuals and discover and exploit their inner potential for their own and/or expected future roles.

(iii) Develop an organizational culture in which supervisor- subordinate relationships, team work, and collaboration among sub-units are strong and contribute to the professional well-being, motivation, and pride of employees.

(iv) HRD process is facilitated by mechanisms like performance appraisal, training, organizational development (OD), feedback and counseling, career development, potential development, job rotation and rewards.

(v) Employees are continuously helped to acquire new competencies through a process of performance planning, feedback, training, periodic review of performance, assessment of the development needs, and creation of development.

18. Discuss the definition of Human Resources Development (HRD).

Ans: HRD is defined as activities and process undertaken by an organisation to formulate the intellectual, moral, psychological, cultural, social and economic development of the individuals in an organisation, in order to help them to achieve the highest human potential as a resource for the community. It means to bring about a total all-round development of the working human, so that they can contribute their best to the organisation, community, society and the nation.

HRD does not cover only a set of mechanisms or techniques but it is a process by which employees acquire or sharpen capabilities to perform the various functions, develop their general capabilities as individuals and exploit their own inner potentials, develop team work and collaboration. HRD concept is much wider and embraces almost all areas of an organisation.

In the context of banking, HRD means not only the acquisition of knowledge and skills but also acquiring capabilities to anticipate and manage both internal and external environment and obtaining, self-confidence and motivation for public service. Further, HRD is not a piecemeal or a one-time exercise, it is a continuous process requiring to keep pace with the changes and developments, taking place.

19. Write the short note on the evolution of Human Resource Development (HRD).

Ans: The process of development had been different from time to time. Earlier it used to be the responsibility of the individual to develop himself on his own or under the guidance of a GURU. Training by ACHARYA had been the instrument in past which made successful kings, warriors, courtiers, engineers and architects.

Industrial revolution gave a new dimension to the concept of Human Resource Development. The skilled artisans were developed through “learning while doing” or “on the job training” methodology. The process started increasing skill and knowledge of the worker and supervisors.

In west, the concept was first evolved by Robert Owen who emphasized human needs of workers in 1803. He taught the work place cleanliness and improvement methods. Andrew Ore emphasized the need of welfare activities to improve the worker efficiency.

FW Taylor, a pioneer of scientific management, stressed the incorporation of scientific standards in management. Elton Mayo emphasized the human values. Likert also stated that better utilization of human resources is also possible by treating them as human. HRD began to focus intensive supervisory training in human relations.

Malcom Knowles and Leonar Nadler have also contributed in developing this concept. Knowles emphasized human approach oriented learning instead of content centered and experimental instead of exclusively didactic learning. Nadler’s writing made distinction between Human resources management and Human Resource Development.

Pareek and Rao stressed up the integrated approach to this process of HRD by giving due weightage to performance appraisal, training of individual and organizational development, feedback, counseling, career planning, potential development, reward etc.

20. Discuss the concept of Human Resource Development (HRD).

Ans: HRD is mainly concerned with developing the skills, knowledge and competencies of people and it is people- oriented concept. When we call it a people-oriented concept, the question arises, whether people will be developed in the larger or national context or in the smaller organisational context? Is it different at the macro and micro level? HRD can be applied both for the national level and organisational level.

The concept of HRD is not yet well conceived by various authors though they have defined the term from their approach as it is of recent origin and still is in the conceptualising stage. It is an understanding of the term i.e., new or rather was new. HRD is not Training and Development.

The concept of HRD was formally introduced by Leonard Nadler in 1969 in a conference organised by the American Society for Training and Development. Leonard Nadler defines HRD as “those learning experiences which are organised for a specific time and designed to bring about the possibility of behavioural change.”

Among the Indian authors, T.Ventateswara Rao worked extensively on HRD. He defines HRD in the organisational context as a process by which the employees of an organisation are helped in a continuous, planned way to-

(i) Acquire or sharpen capabilities required to perform various functions associated with their present or expected future roles.

(ii) Develop their general capabilities as individuals and discover and exploit their own inner potentials for their own and/or organisational development purposes.

(iii) Development an organisational culture in which superior-subordinate relationship, teamwork and collaboration among subunits are strong and contribute to the professional well-being, motivation and pride of employees.

According to Pulapa Subba Rao, HRD from the organisational point of view is a process in which the employees of an organisation are helped/ motivated to acquire and develop technical, managerial and behavioural knowledge, skills and abilities and mould the values, beliefs and attitudes necessary to perform present and future roles by realising the highest human potential with a view to contribute positively to the organisational, group, individual and social goals.

Technical skills and knowledge are provided through training, managerial skills and knowledge are provided through management development and behavioural skills and knowledge are provided through organisation development.

A comparative analysis of these definitions shows that the third definition seems to be comprehensive and elaborate as it deals with the developmental aspects of all the components of human resources. Further, it deals with all types of skills, the present and future organisational needs and aspects of contribution not only to organisational but also other goals.

The analysis of the third definition further shows that there are three aspects, viz –

(i) Employees of an organisation are helped/motivated.

(ii) Acquire, develop and mould various aspects of human resources and. 

(iii) Contribute to the organisational, group, individual and social goals. The first aspect deals with helping and motivating factors for HRD.

These factors may be called ‘Enabling Factors’ which include: organisation structure, organisational climate, HRD climate, HRD knowledge and skills of managers, human resources planning, recruitment and selection. The second aspect deals with the techniques or methods which are the means to acquire develop and mould the various human resources.

These techniques include- Performance appraisal, Potential appraisal, Career planning and Development, Training, Management development, Organisational development, Social and Cultural programmes, and workers’ participation in management and quality circles. The third category includes the outcomes’ contribution of the HRD process to the goals of the organisation, group, individuals and the society.

21. Comment on the nature of Human Resource Development (HRD).

Ans: The nature of Human Resource Development are:

(a) Learning: The essence of HRD is learning. The very purpose of HRD is to make the employees acquire knowledge, learn newer concepts and develop their skills. The core of HRD is to enhance the quality of workforce by creating an environment which fosters constant learning.

(b) Career Development: HRD helps in the career development of individuals by matching employee characteristics with job requirements. Growth of the organization is achieved through growth and development of individual employee.

(c) Specific Duration: Any particular HRD programme would have a specific duration. It could be for a short, medium or long duration.

(d) Improves Performance: The performance of employees is improved as a result of HRD. The training programmes enhance the capabilities of employees and improve their productivity.

(e) Organizational Development: HRD aims at not just the development of the human resources, but at the progress of the organization as a whole. Positive changes in work culture, processes and organizational structure are made.

(f) Long-Term Benefits: HRD is a very future oriented concept. The results of HRD can be experienced only after some time following its implementation. But it benefits the employee and the organization for a long time in the future.

(g) Continuous Process: HRD is a continuous process. Different HRD programmes are to be implemented in the organization according to changes in the work environment. Human behaviour needs to be monitored regularly to enable them to adjust themselves according to environment dynamics.

(h) Employee Welfare: The organization attempts to provide all the -facilities which are vital for the physical and mental well-being of the employees to facilitate HRD. Measures like canteen facilities, crèche, medical insurance, etc. are provided as part of employee welfare.

(i) Development of Team Spirit: HRD creates a healthy work environment which helps to build team spirit and coordination among various groups and the department. Team spirit is necessary for fostering loyalty and belongingness among employees.

22. Discuss, the need and scope of Human Resource Development (HRD).

Ans: Human resource development is needed in an organization for the following purposes:

(a) To Achieve Goals: People need competencies to perform tasks. Higher degree and quality of performance of tasks requires higher level of skills. Continuous development of competencies in people is essential for an organization to achieve its goals. Competent and motivated employees are essential for organizational survival, growth and excellence.

(b) To Maintain a Level of Growth: Over a period of time, an organization may achieve a saturation point in terms of its growth. Even to maintain such a saturation level of growth employee competencies need to be sharpened or developed as organizations operate in environments that keep changing requiring the employees to acquire new competencies.

(c) Improve Effectiveness: Any organization interested in improving its services and its effectiveness in cost reduction, reduction in delays, increased customer satisfaction, improved quality and promptness of services, market image needs to develop the competencies of its employees to perform the tasks needed to bring about such improvements.

Human Resources Development (HRD) — Scope: Human resources management deals with procurement, development, compensation, maintenance and utilisation of human resources. HRD deals with development of human resources for efficient utilisation of these resources in order to achieve the individual, group and organisational goals. Thus the scope of HRM is wider and HRD is part and parcel of HRM. In fact, HRD helps for the efficient management of human resources. The scope of HRD invades into all the functions of HRM.

The scope of HRD includes:

(i) Recruiting the employees within the dimensions and possibilities for developing human resources.

(ii) Selecting those employees having potentialities for development to meet the present and future organisational needs.

(iii) Analysing, appraising and developing performance of employees as individuals, members of a group and organisations with a view to develop them by identifying the gaps in skills and knowledge.

(iv) Help the employees to learn from their superiors through performance consultations, performance counselling and performance interviews.

(v) Train all the employees in acquiring new technical skills and knowledge.

(vi) Develop the employees in managerial and behavioural skills and knowledge.

(vii) Planning for employees’ career and introducing developmental programmes.

(viii) Planning for succession and develop the employees.

(ix) Changing the employees’ behaviour through organisation development.

(x) Employee learning through group dynamics, intra and inter team interaction.

(xi) Learning through social and religious interactions and programmes,

(xii) Learning through job rotation, job enrichment and empowerment.

(xiii) Learning through quality circles and the schemes of workers’ participation in the management.

23. Explain the various significance or importance of HRD.

Ans: HRD plays a vital role in the success and growth of an organisation in the following ways:

(i) HRD improves team work. Employees become more open towards each other and they also trust each other. In this way the organisational climate also improves a lot.

(ii) HRD promotes organisational effectiveness. Appropriate employee centered policies help the organisation achieve its goal more efficiently.

(iii) Performance related rewards help employees realise the importance of utilising their skills fully in the service of organisational goals. The organisation’s health and self renewing capabilities improve quite significantly.

(iv) HRD helps the organisation in procuring the right people at the right time and in making their effective use.

(v) HRD generates a lot of useful data which facilitates human resource planning and control.

(vi) HRD improves the capabilities of the people by making them better aware of the skills required for job performance and by improving clarity about performance standards.

24. Differentiate between performance appraisal and job evaluation.

Ans: Performance Appraisal:

(i) Meaning: Performance appraisal refers to knowing of the level of performance of employees working in an organisation.

(ii) Relation: It concerns with individuals because the level of their performance is to be determined.

(iii) Objective: Its objective is to provide basis for promotion, transfer, training, etc.

(iv) Basis of Policies: Policies regarding training, promotion, transfer etc. are formulated on its basis in an organisation.

Job Evaluation:

(i) Meaning: Determining of the relative worth of different jobs of an organisation is called job evaluation.

(ii) Relation: It is concerned with the job and not individuals. Worth of each job is determined.

(iii) Objective: Its main objective is to determine remunerations for different jobs.

(iv) Basis of Policies: Remuneration policy of an organisation is determined on its basis.

25. What are the importances of HRD?

Ans: The importance of human factor in any type of cooperative endeavour cannot be overemphasised. It is a matter of common knowledge that every business organisation depends for its effective functioning not so much on its material or financial resources as on its pool of able and willing human resources. The human resource becomes even more important in the service industry whose value is delivered through information, personal interaction or group work. The overwhelming importance of this factor is due to its unique characteristics. First, this is the only resource, which can produce unlimited amounts through better ideas. There is no apparent limit to what people can accomplish when they are motivated to use their potential to create new and better ideas. No other resource can do this. Second, this resource is animate, active and living. It is man alone who with his ability to feel, think, conceive and grow shows satisfaction or dissatisfaction, resentment or pleasure, resistance or acceptance for all types of managerial actions. All other resources which are inanimate, inert and passive do not act in this way. All emotional problems emanate from human factor only. Third, human resource is most complex and unpredictable in its behaviour. There is no cook book formula to guide a manager how to motivate his workers. A manager can buy his worker’s time, he can buy his physical presence at a given place, he can buy a measured number of skilled muscular motions per hour or day, but he cannot buy worker’s enthusiasm, he cannot buy his initiative, he cannot buy his loyalty, he cannot buy his devotion. Fourth, each individual has his own distinct background. 

This makes each individual unique in his psychological framework. No two individuals have exactly similar psychological frameworks. Hence, they cannot be interchanged, much less standardized. This implies that all individuals in an organization cannot be treated alike. In employing and supervising people and in endeavoring to reach their motivation, a manager must follow tailor-made approach based on his understanding of the actions, attitudes, needs and urges of the worker concerned. This is a very formidable and challenging task. Fifth, it is only the human resource, which can help an organization attain sustained competitive advantage by facilitating the development of competencies that are firm specific and difficult to imitate. Finally, it is only this resource which appreciates in value with the passage of time. As time passes people become experienced and skilled. It is not so with other resources, which generally depreciate as time, goes on.

Two other factors, which have increased the importance of human resource are the labour enactments and the rise of labour organizations. Various laws, such as the Factories Act, Employees’ State Insurance Act, and the Workmen’s Compensation Act have been passed to dictate certain minimum standards of treatment. Fear of opposition by labour unions is another somewhat negative reason for treating the human resource with greater respect. All the above factors underscore the need for a manager to be more than ‘good at handling men’. He must recognize their importance as a key resource to be obtained cheaply, used sparingly and developed and exploited as fully as possible.

26. What is the need of HRD? Discuss.

Ans: No organisation can survive, let alone make a mark, if its employees are not competent in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes. Competent employees are as much the necessity of a nonprofit organisation as of a profit-making organisation. Both types of organisations need competent employees for the success of their internal and external operations. A profit organisation interested in growing, diversifying or improving its working (such as cost reduction, reduction in delays, increased customer satisfaction, improved quality, market image, etc.) must first think of developing its employees’ competencies. Similarly, a nonprofit organisation, say a university or a hospital interested in improving its work culture, must first think of orienting its employees’ attitudes. It is common knowledge that the factory system has dehumanised and deskilled various jobs. By enriching workers’ roles HRD satisfies their needs of advancement, growth, self-respect, recognition, creativity and autonomy. Under career development plans workers are more or less assured about their future. Other HRD mechanisms such as counseling, monitoring, quality of work life, etc. enable workers to lead an integrated life which is mostly partitioned by the factory system into two lives: the organisational life and the personal life. 7 Whereas traditional human resource development methods (such as training, job- rotation, etc.) have their relevance and usefulness, they are by themselves inadequate to bring about the kind of system-wide change which is visualized in the concept of HRD. 

In traditional methods often-top management personnel have the attitude that all is well with them, and it is only the lower level which needs to be trained and developed. Such attitude makes these programmes ineffective because by keeping the interdependent and interacting higher levels out, these levels continue to remain plagued by forces of mistrust, jealousy and authoritarianism. HRD programmes bring about a system-wide change. They gradually enrich the entire socio- technical system. HRD is needed to develop a proper climate in the organisation. No other traditional method can do this. Executives in most of the traditional organisations seem to hold the following values: The important human relationships are those which are related to achieving the or-ganisation objectives, i.e., getting the job done. For being effective in human relationships one needs to be more rational and logical in his behaviour rather than emotional. Human relationships are most effectively motivated by carefully defined direction, authority and control as well as appropriate rewards and penalties that emphasise rational behaviour and achievement of the objective.

27. What are the factors affecting HRD?

Ans: In HRD strategy, it is necessary to take into account several factors significant to the organisation such as organisational, environmental, social and cultural fact. Although social and cultural factors (casteism, religion, festivals, etc.) affect the HRD programmes, it is mainly affected by the following organisational factors, which according to Pereira and Rao are known as OCTAPAC as under: OCTAPAC culture is essential for facilitating HRD. Openness is there when employees feel free to discuss their ideas, activities and feelings with each other. Confrontation is bringing out of problems and issues into the open with a view to solving them rather than hiding them for fear of hurting or getting hurt. Trust is taking’ people at their face value and believing what they say. Autonomy is giving freedom to let people work independently with responsibility. Productivity is encouraging employees to take initiative and risks. Authenticity is the tendency on the part of the people to do what they say. Collaboration is to accept interdependencies to be helpful to each Other and work as teams.

28. Explain the importance of management development.

Ans: Management development is necessary for the following reasons:

(a) Today, labour-management relations are complex. Workers are better educated and more aware. More competent managers are needed to manage to modern workforce.

(b) Management needs education and training to understand and adjust to changes in socio-economic forces. Changes in public policy, social justice, industrial democracy, ecology, cultural anthropology are the main socio-economic changes.

(c) Management of state enterprises, public utilities and civic bodies improve operational efficiency,

(d) The size and complexity of organisations are increasing. Managers need to be developed to handle the problems of complex organisations in the face of increasing competition.

(e) Management development programmes are required to train and develop professional managers.

(f) Business and industrial leaders are increasingly recognition their social and public responsibilities.

29. Mention the skills required by the manager. What are the attributes of HRD manager?

Ans: While analyzing the skills of a manager, R.L. Katz speaks of following three types:

(a) Technical Skills: These enable a manager to use techniques, methods, processes and equipment effectively in performing specific jobs. These skills are developed through experience and education. These are most important for operating managers.

(b) Human Skills: These refer to the ability to work effectively with others on a person-to-person basis, and to build up cooperative group relations to accomplish the organizational goals. These include the ability to communicate, motivate and lead. These are also called human relations abilities, which enable a manager to handle human resources in such a way that personal satisfaction is achieved and organizational goals are attained.

(c) Conceptual Skills: These enable a manager to consider an enterprise as a whole and evaluate the relationships which exist between various parts or functions of a business. In long-range planning, top managers need these skills. The higher one rises in the management hierarchy, the greater the need of conceptual skills. For example, members of the Board of Directors have to rely heavily on their conceptual abilities in making decisions.

To sum up, while human skills are important at all levels of management, conceptual skill is essentially critical in top executive positions, and technical skill is an essential ingredient in low-level management.

According to Pareek and Rao HRD manager should possess the following attributes.

Technical:

(i) Knowledge of various types of performance appraisal system and potential employee appraisal system and ability to develop them.

(ii) Knowledge of various types of tests and measurements of behaviour.

(iii) Ability to design and execute training programs at various level.

(iv) Knowledge of career planning and other personnel practice.

(v) Knowledge of behavioural science.

(vi) Knowledge and skills in counselling. 

(vii) Understanding of overall organizational culture.

(viii) Knowledge of techniques in behavioural research.

Managerial:

(ii) Organizing ability.

(ii) System development.

Personality:

(ii) Initiative.

(ii) Faith in human beings and their abilities.

(iii) Positive attitude towards others.

(iv) Imagination and creativity.

(v) Concern for excellence.

(vi) Concern for people and development.

(vii) Friendly, sociable, affable.

(viii) Attitude for research and development work.

(ix) Interest in learning new things.

(x) Ability to work as a team.

30. What are the functions of HRD?

Ans: The core of the concept of HRS is that of development of human beings, or HRD. The concept of development should cover not only the individual but also other units in the organisation. In addition to developing the individual, attention needs to be given to the development of stronger dyads, i.e., two-person groups of the employee and his boss. Such dyads are the basic units of working in the organisation. Besides several groups like committees, task groups, etc. also require attention. Development of süch groups should be from the point of view of increasing collaboration amongst people working in the organisation, thus making for an effective decisionmaking. Finally, the entire department and the entire organisation also should be covered by development. Their development would involve developing a climate conducive for their effectiveness, developing self- renewing mechanisms in the organisations so that they are able to adjust and pro-act, and developing relevant processes which contribute to their effectiveness. 

Hence, the goals of the HRD systems are to develop:

(a) The capabilities of each employee as an individual.

(b) The capabilities of each individual in relation to his or her present role.

(c) The capabilities of each employee in relation to his or her expected future role(s).

(d) The dyadic relationship between each employee and his or her supervisor.

(e) The team spirit and functioning in every organisational unit (department, group, etc.).

(f) Collaboration among different units of the organisation.

(g) The organisation’s overall health and self-renewing capabilities which, in turn, increase the enabling capabilities of individuals, dyads, teams, and the entire organisation.

31. What are the features of Human Resource Development? What are the benefits of HRD?

Ans: The essential features of human resource development can be listed as follows:

(a) Human resource development is a process in which employees of the organisations are recognized as its human resource. It believes that human resource is most valuable asset of the organisation.

(b) It stresses on development of human resources of the organisation. It helps the employees of the organisation to develop their general capabilities in relation to their present jobs and expected future role.

(c) It emphasise on the development and best utilization of the capabilities of individuals in the interest of the employees and organisation.

(d) It helps is establishing/developing better inter-personal relations. It stresses on developing relationship based on help, trust and confidence.

(e) It promotes team spirit among employees.

(f) It tries to develop competencies at the organisation level. It stresses on providing healthy climate for development in the organisation.

(g) HRD is a system. It has several sub-systems. All these sub-systems are inter-related and interwoven. It stresses on collaboration among all the sub-systems.

(h) It aims to develop an organisational culture in which there is good senior-subordinate relations, motivation, quality and sense of belonging.

(i) It tries to develop competence at individual, inter-personal, group and organisational level to meet organisational goal.

(j) It is an inter-disciplinary concept. It is based on the concepts, ideas and principles of sociology, psychology, economics etc.

(k) It form on employee welfare and quality of work life. It tries to examine/identify employee needs and meeting them to the best possible extent. 

(l) It is a continuous and systematic learning process. Development is a lifelong process, which never ends.

Human resource development now a days is considered as the key to higher productivity, better relations and greater profitability for any organisation. Appropriate HRD provides unlimited benefits to the concerned organisation.

Some of the important benefits are being given here:

(a) HRD (Human Resource Development) makes people more competent. HRD develops new skill, knowledge and attitude of the people in the concern organisations.

(b) With appropriate HRD programme, people become more committed to their jobs. People are assessed on the basis of their performance by having a acceptable performance appraisal system. An environment of trust and respect can be created with the help of human resource development.

(c) Acceptability toward change can be created with the help of HRD. Employees found themselves better equipped with problem-solving capabilities.

(d) It improves the all round growth of the employees. HRD also improves team spirit in the organisation. They become more open in their behaviour. Thus, new values can be generated.

(e) It also helps to create the efficiency culture In the organisation. It leads to greater organisational effectiveness. Resources are properly utilised and goals are achieved in a better way..

(f) It improves the participation of worker in the organisation. This improve the role of worker and workers feel a sense of pride and achievement while performing their jobs.

(g) It also helps to collect useful and objective data on employees programmes and policies which further facilitate better human resource planning

(h) Hence, it can be concluded that HRD provides a lot of benefits in every organisation. So, the importance of concept of HRD should be recognised and given a place of eminence, to face the present and future challenges in the organisation.