Chapter 7

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

7.1 Introduction
The development of human resources is essential for any organization that would like to be dynamic and
growth-oriented. Unlike other resources, human resources have rather unlimited potential capabilities. The
potential can be used only by creating a climate that can continuously identify, bring to the surface, nurture,
and use the capabilities of people.

Human Resource Development (HRD) system aims at creating such a climate. Several HRD techniques
have been developed in recent years to perform the above task based on certain principles. This unit
provides an understanding of the concept of the HRD system, related mechanisms, and the changing
boundaries of HRD.

HRD concept was first introduced by Leonard Nadler in 1969 in a conference in the US. “He defined HRD
as those learning experiences which are organized, for a specific time, and designed to bring about the
possibility of behavioral change”.

Human Resource Development (HRD) is the framework for helping employees develop their personal and
organizational skills, knowledge, and abilities. Human Resource Development includes such opportunities
as employee training, employee career development, performance management and development,
coaching, mentoring, succession planning, key employee identification, tuition assistance, and organization
development.

Human Resource Development can be formal such as in-classroom training, a college course, or an
organizational planned change effort. Or, Human Resource Development can be informal as in employee
coaching by a manager.

7.2 Definitions of HRD

HRD (Human Resources Development) has been defined by various scholars in various ways. Some of the
important definitions of HRD (Human Resources Development) are as follows:

According to Leonard Nadler, "Human resource development is a series of organized activities, conducted

within a specialized time and designed to produce behavioral changes."

T. Venkateswara Rao defines HRD

“A process by which the employees of an organization are helped in a continuous, planned way to:
 Acquire or sharpen capabilities required to perform various functions associated with their present or
expected future roles.
 Develop their general capabilities as individuals and discover and exploit their own inner potentials
for their own or organizational development purposes.
 Develop an organizational culture in which superior-subordinate relationship, team work and
collaboration among sub-units are strong and contribute to the professional well-being motivation
and pride of employees.

According to M.M. Khan, "Human resource development is the across of increasing knowledge,

capabilities and positive work attitudes of all people working at all levels in a business undertaking."

7.3 The Concept Of Human Resource Development

Human resource development in the organization context is a process by which the employees of an
organization are helped, in a continuous and planned way to:

 Acquire or sharpen capabilities required to perform various functions associated with their present or
expected future roles;
 Develop their general capabilities as individuals and discover and exploit their inner potentials for their
own and/or organizational development purposes; and
  Develop an organizational culture in which supervisor-subordinate relationships, teamwork, and
collaboration among sub-units are strong and contribute to the professional well being, motivation, and
pride of employees.

7.4 Difference between HRD and HRM

7.5 The need for HRD

HRD is needed by any organization that wants to be dynamic and growth-oriented or to succeed in a fast-
changing environment. Organizations can become dynamic and grow only through the efforts and
competencies of their human resources. Personnel policies can keep the morale and motivation of
employees high, but these efforts are not enough to make the organization dynamic and take it in new
directions. Employee capabilities must continuously be acquired, sharpened, and used. For this purpose, an
“enabling” organizational culture is essential. When employees use their initiative, take risks, experiment,
innovate, and make things happen, the organization may be said to have an “enabling” culture.

Even an organization that has reached its limit of growth, needs to adapt to the changing environment. No
is immune to the need for processes that help to acquire and increase its capabilities for stability and
renewal.

7.6 HRD FUNCTIONS

The core of the concept of HRS is that of the development of human beings or HRD. The concept of
development should cover not only the individual but also other units in the organization. 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 organization.

Besides several groups like committees, task groups, etc. also require attention. The development of such
groups should be from increasing collaboration amongst people working in the organization, thus making
for effective decision-making. Finally, the entire department and the entire organization also should be
covered by development. Their development would involve developing a climate conducive for their
effectiveness, developing self-renewing mechanisms in the organizations so that they can adjust and pro-
act, and developing relevant processes that contribute to their effectiveness.
 Hence, the goals of the HRD systems are to develop:
 The capabilities of each employee as an individual.
 The capabilities of each individual concerning his or her present role.
 The capabilities of each employee concerning his or her expected future role(s).
 The dyadic relationship between each employee and his or her supervisor.
 The team spirit and functioning in every organizational unit (department, group, etc.).
 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.

7.7 Features of Human Resource Development

 Human resource development is a process in which employees of the organizations are recognized as
its human resource. It believes that human resource is the most valuable asset of the organization.
 It stresses the development of human resources of the organization. It helps the employees of the
organization to develop their general capabilities concerning their present jobs and expected future role.
 It emphasizes the development and best utilization of the capabilities of individuals in the interest of
the employees and the organization.
 It helps is establishing/developing better inter-personal relations. It stresses developing relationships
based on help, trust, and confidence.
 It promotes team spirit among employees.
 It tries to develop competencies at the organization level. It stresses on providing a healthy climate for
development in the organization.
 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.
 It aims to develop an organizational culture in which there is good senior-subordinate relations,
motivation, quality, and a sense of belonging.
 It tries to develop competence at the individual, interpersonal, group, and organizational levels to meet
organizational goals.
 It is an interdisciplinary concept. It is based on the concepts, ideas, and principles of sociology,
psychology, economics, etc.
 Its form on employee welfare and quality of work life. It tries to examine/identify employee needs and
meeting them to the best possible extent.
 It is a continuous and systematic learning process. Development is a life long process, which never
ends.

7.8 Benefits of Human Resource Development

 Human resource development now a day is considered as the key to higher productivity, better
relations, and greater profitability for any organization. Appropriate HRD provides unlimited benefits
to the concerned organization. Some of the important benefits are being given here:
 HRD (Human Resource Development) makes people more competent. HRD develops new skills,
knowledge, and attitude of the people in the concerned organizations.
 With an appropriate HRD program, people become more committed to their jobs. People are assessed
based on their performance by having an acceptable performance appraisal system.
 An environment of trust and respect can be created with the help of human resource development.
 Acceptability toward change can be created with the help of HRD. Employees found themselves better
equipped with problem-solving capabilities.
 It improves the all-round growth of the employees. HRD also improves team spirit in the organization.
They become more open in their behavior. Thus, new values can be generated.
 It also helps to create an efficient culture In the organization. It leads to greater organizational
effectiveness. Resources are properly utilized and goals are achieved in a better way.
 It improves the participation of workers in the organization. This improves the role of workers and
workers feel a sense of pride and achievement while performing their jobs.
 It also helps to collect useful and objective data on employee programs and policies which further
facilitate better human resource planning.
7.9 Human Resources Development Framework

Recent economic liberalizations announced by the Government of India tend towards the market and
economy and started creating a more dynamic environment in India than ever before.HRD plays a
significant and cultural role in market economies under dynamic environments. Human Resources
development should be effective and efficient. HRD cannot be effective for the candidates who do not
possess the potentials to perform present and future roles in organizations with a dynamic environment.

Human resource planning for HRD should plan for a human resource not only for the present and
future jobs but also for roles. Further, human resource planning should plan for potentialities.
Recruitment for HRD refers to searching for prospective employees having skills, talents, and
potentials to carry out the present and future jobs and also for development and motivate them to apply
for jobs. Selection for HRD refers to designing selection techniques like written test, selection test,
interview, etc. fit for selecting the candidates suitable for further development. This base factor
influence the analysis of roles of employees as an individual, as members of team and organization,
along with the ever-changing environment

Analysis of roles of employees as individuals, members of the team, and members of an organization
helps the organization to know the employee's present capabilities and potentialities. Further
performance appraisal and potential appraisal techniques help to evaluate the present capabilities,
performance, and potentials more accurately.

An organizational plan including the plan for change, based on environmental opportunities and
threats, is the basis to determine organizational requirements.

A human resource to be acquired and developed are determined in terms of skills, knowledge, abilities,
values, aptitude, beliefs, commitments, etc. suitable techniques of human resource development is/ are
to be selected depending upon the resources to be acquired and developed. These techniques include
performance appraisal, potential appraisal, training, management development, and organizational
development, etc.

The outcomes of HRD are four-folded, viz. to the organization, to individuals, to groups, and society.
HRD benefits the organization by developing the employees and makes them ready to accept
responsibilities, welcome change, adapt to change, enable the implementation of the programs of total
quality management.
 The HRD helps the group in the form of an increase in co-operation, an increase in collaboration, and
team effectiveness. Further, it helps in the form of developing human resources and increased
contribution.

7.10Knowledge management
Knowledge is the power/capacity for effective action. The organized data are information. The processed
information in the actionable form is referred to as knowledge. Knowledge becomes wisdom when it is
used for a good cause of a large number of people.

7.11Tactic Knowledge vs. Explicit Knowledge

Explicit knowledge is formal knowledge that is available in books, reports, audiotapes videotapes. CDs etc..
Tactic knowledge is the potential of an individual and needs to be mined or exploited through face-to-face
discussions, interviews, etc. Tactic knowledge can be shared and exchanged.

7.12The individual knowledge creation process

Individual knowledge conversion takes place between tactic-knowledge and d explicit knowledge.

According to Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995), knowledge conversion is based on four modes.
Socialization: Knowledge is converted from tactic to tactic through sharing-and exchanging Experience and
technical skills
Externalization: Tactic knowledge is converted into explicit concepts like analogies, models, generalizations
etc.
 Combination: Knowledge is converted from explicit to explicit by reconfiguration of existing information
by infusing modifications, additions, deletions, sorting, combinations and categorizations.
 This effort results in the creation of new or improved knowledge.
Internalization: knowledge is converted from explicit to tactic. This is related learning by reading, listening
and doing. This stage helps the individual to conceptualize the knowledge from his own perspective through
the interaction of his own cognition. Thus, the individual internalizes the explicit knowledge
and converts it into tactic knowledge.

7.13Organizational knowledge creation process:

The modes discussed in the individual knowledge conversion interact with the dimension i.e., time and
produce five phases of organizational knowledge creation. These five phases include:

a. Sharing Tactic Knowledge: Interaction among individual employees in the form of meetings,
discussions and conflict over ideas provides for exchange and sharing of tactic knowledge. Thus, tactic
knowledge held by most of the employees becomes the organizational knowledge.
b. Creating Concepts: The cognitive process of each employee crystallizes the shared tactic knowledge
into models, concepts and words.
c. Justifying Concepts: The new concepts generated by individuals need to be tested in practice and
justified for further validity and practical implementation. This stage justifies whether the new
concepts/ideas are worthwhile for the organization and the society.
d. Building an Archetype: The tested concepts are converted into tangible or concretes (archetype) or
prototype operating mechanism.
e. Cross-leveling Knowledge: Knowledge created, developed and modeled is further cycled by another
organization or department. Other departments and organizations should have the autonomy to develop
the knowledge further for the benefit of the organization, society and humanity at large.
 The knowledge conversion process-both individual and organizational-can be synchronized in the
following stages:
a. Sharing of the ideas/opinions through tactic to tactic conversion.
b. Developing new knowledge by tactic-tactic and cognitive interaction of a team of employees.
c. Creating concepts and justifying them by tactic-explicit conversion.
d. Securing new and existing knowledge.
e. Building an archetype.
f. Distribution of archetype models.
g. Combine available knowledge.
h. Cross-leveling knowledge for further explicit-tactic-explicit conversion

7.14Beckman’s has proposed an eight stage knowledge management process. These stages include:

a. Identify stage: This stage includes identification of competencies necessary for organizational success.
b. Collect stage: This stage includes acquiring existing knowledge, skills, experience etc. to possess the
competencies.
c. Select stage: This stage deals with the assessment of value of collected knowledge against the standard
requirements for success.
d. Store stage: This stage takes the nuggets of knowledge. Classifies them and includes them in the
organizational existing knowledge.
e. Share stage: This stage makes the new and existing organizational knowledge accessible for employees.
f. Apply stage: This stage enables employees to apply knowledge in organizational activities/ operations,
decision-making, problem-solving, exploiting opportunities etc.
g. Customer Acceptance: This stage involves obtaining customers' acceptance/clients approval for the
products/services produced/developed based on the knowledge.
h. Create stage: This stage involves development of new knowledge through observation, feedback, brain
storming, failures in the previous events etc.

7.15Benefits of Knowledge Management

Companies derive the benefits from knowledge management. These benefits include:
a. Companies discover the opportunities provided by the environment and exploit them with
the help of knowledge created and developed.
b. Companies can reduce the threats created by the environment.
c. Derive more value and competencies from the intellectual property.
d. Increased productivity, profits etc.
e. Learn continuously and retain competencies.
f. Ability to change and to become change agent.
g. Getting maximum from the people and information technology.