96 issues on human resource developmenteprints.utm.my/id/eprint/...thenotionofhrdareview.pdf · the...

96 Issues on Human Resource Development

Chapter 6.indd 96 3/11/09 7:56 PM

97The Notion of HRD: A Review

6THE NOTION OF HRD: A REVIEW

ROZIANA SHAARI ROSE ALINDA ALIAS

AZIZAH RAJAB

THEORETICAL FOUNDATION ON HRD

This section presents numerous insights and effort towards defining and developing a concept of HRD. These insights have contributed to the notion of HRD itself. One cannot discuss HRD without acknowledging the various disciplines from which it has borrowed (Brooks and Nafukho, 2006).

The HRD concept emerges from the classical approach in management principles (Taylorism – scientific management), productivity improvement (Howthorne studies – behaviorism) and teamwork and group dynamics (Tavistock Institute and T-groups). So many scholars from various fields (industrial psychology, organization behavior, management, industrial relations, engineering etc) have contributed in improving the performance of individuals, processes and organizations (Wimbiscus, 1995).

The term HRD provided by Nadler (1970) is a conceptual umbrella under which the field began to unify, using the three-fold notion of training, education, and development. Of late, HRD has its relation with organizational and performance change and also associate with a field of adult learning in the workplace Garavan et al. (1995) provides some definitions of HRD based on different notions of understanding (Table 1).

Chapter 6.indd 97 3/11/09 7:56 PM


Scholar NotionNadler & Nadler (1989) Organized learning experiences provided by

the employer, in a specified period of time for the purpose of increasing job performance and

providing growth for individualsASTD (1990) HRD includes: training and development,

organization development, and career development.

Harrison (1992) - Softer phrases such as “employee development” and “training and development”

- involves the alignment of training and development activities with the organization’s

mission and strategic goals so that through enhancing the skills, knowledge, learning ability and motivation of employees at all levels, there

will be continuous organizational as well as individual growth.

(Source: Garavan et al. (1995))

Table 1: Definition of HRD

The insights from many authors and researchers that contribute to the notion of HRD are summarized in Table 2.

Chapter 6.indd 98 3/11/09 7:56 PM

99The Notion of HRD: A ReviewA

utho

rs/S

chol

ars

Cita

tion

HR

D P

arad

igm

/Not

ion

Not

es

McL

agan

& B

edric

k (1

983)

- P

rovi

de H

R A

ctiv

ity

Whe

el a

nd c

ateg

oriz

e H

RD

co

mpo

nent

s int

o in

divi

dual

, ca

reer

, org

aniz

atio

n de

velo

pmen

t- r

eflec

ted

a sh

ift th

inki

ng in

H

RD

wor

k

- The

idea

has

refl

ecte

d a

shift

th

inki

ng in

HR

D w

ork

- Thi

s mod

el h

as b

een

argu

ed b

y W

imbi

scus

(199

5) th

at th

e w

heel

do

es n

ot se

rve

as u

nify

ing

mod

el o

f H

RD

dis

cipl

ine

- In

fact

, McL

agan

her

self

stat

ed

that

the

mod

el is

no

long

er re

leva

nt

(McL

ean,

200

2)- H

owev

er, t

he m

odel

serv

es a

s a

stro

ng b

asis

of u

nder

stan

ding

HR

D.

For e

xam

ples

, man

y lit

erat

ures

ar

e be

ing

indi

rect

ly d

iscu

ssed

H

RD

with

in th

ese

thre

e ar

eas o

r co

mpo

nent

s (W

imbi

scus

, 199

5;

Gar

avan

et a

l., 1

995,

199

9; P

ace

et a

l., 1

991;

) and

the

mod

el h

as

influ

ence

d in

cou

rse

deve

lopm

ent

prog

ram

me

in th

e U

S (M

cLea

n,

2002

)

Chapter 6.indd 99 3/11/09 7:56 PM

100 Issues on Human Resource DevelopmentSw

anso

n (2

001)

- Defi

ne H

RD

as a

pro

cess

of

deve

lopi

ng a

nd u

nlea

shin

g hu

man

exp

ertis

e th

roug

h or

gani

zatio

n de

velo

pmen

t (O

D) a

nd p

erso

nnel

trai

ning

an

d de

velo

pmen

t (T&

D) f

or

the

purp

ose

of im

prov

ing

perf

orm

ance

.- r

elat

e H

RD

func

tion

to

the

orga

niza

tiona

l/lar

ger

cont

ext (

i.e.,

atta

ch in

to th

e sy

stem

theo

ry –

whe

re th

e H

RD

resp

onsi

ble

to a

naly

ze

(inpu

t), p

ropo

se, c

reat

e an

d im

plem

ent (

proc

ess)

, and

ac

cess

(out

put).

- u

nder

lyin

g th

eorie

s of

HR

D: e

cono

mic

, sys

tem

&

psy

chol

ogic

al (3

-legg

ed

stoo

l)

- Ack

now

ledg

e th

e O

D a

nd T

&D

as

mec

hani

sm fo

r im

prov

ing

perf

orm

ance

Chapter 6.indd 100 3/11/09 7:56 PM


Swan

son

(200

1)- D

efine

HR

D a

s a p

roce

ss o

f de

velo

ping

and

unl

eash

ing

hum

an e

xper

tise

thro

ugh

orga

niza

tion

deve

lopm

ent

(OD

) and

per

sonn

el tr

aini

ng

and

deve

lopm

ent (

T&D

) for

th

e pu

rpos

e of

impr

ovin

g pe

rfor

man

ce.

- rel

ate

HR

D fu

nctio

n to

th

e or

gani

zatio

nal/l

arge

r co

ntex

t (i.e

., at

tach

into

the

syst

em th

eory

– w

here

the

HR

D re

spon

sibl

e to

ana

lyze

(in

put),

pro

pose

, cre

ate

and

impl

emen

t (pr

oces

s), a

nd

acce

ss (o

utpu

t).

- und

erly

ing

theo

ries o

f H

RD

: eco

nom

ic, s

yste

m

& p

sych

olog

ical

(3-le

gged

st

ool)

- Ack

now

ledg

e th

e O

D a

nd T

&D

as

mec

hani

sm fo

r im

prov

ing

perf

orm

ance

Wim

bisc

us (1

995)

Rum

ler &

Bra

che

(199

0), S

wan

son

(198

9, 1

994a

), Po

rter,

Nad

ler,

Tich

y, Ju

ran,

D

aven

port,

H

amm

er, L

awle

r, C

ampb

ell,

Arg

yris

- dev

elop

men

t of p

eopl

e,

proc

ess,

and

orga

niza

tion

- em

erge

nce

of H

RD

fr

om c

lass

ical

app

roac

h in

m

anag

emen

t prin

cipl

es.

- use

Rum

ler &

Bra

che

(199

0) 9

cel

l per

form

ance

va

riabl

es m

atrix

as a

te

mpl

ate

to id

entif

y, c

lass

ify

& d

escr

ibe

scho

lars

’ co

ntrib

utio

n to

HR

D- d

epen

ds o

n m

odel

of H

RD

by

Sw

anso

n (1

989,

199

4a) –

a

thre

e-le

gged

stoo

l

- Wim

bisc

us d

esig

n a

tem

plat

e of

3x

3 m

atrix

to id

entif

y, c

lass

ify, a

nd

desc

ribe

maj

or H

RD

scho

lars

- des

crib

e sp

ecifi

cally

eac

h of

the

scho

lars

’ con

tribu

tion

and

how

do

they

fit i

nto

the

cell.

- t

o im

prov

e or

com

plet

e th

e or

igin

al

mod

el b

y R

umle

r & B

rach

e.

- the

com

preh

ensi

ve m

odel

offe

rs

HR

D sc

hola

rs a

nd p

ract

ition

ers a

to

ol w

hich

they

may

synt

hesi

ze a

nd

inte

grat

e th

e w

ork

of sc

hola

rs fr

om

the

disc

iplin

es th

at su

ppor

t HR

D.

Chapter 6.indd 101 3/11/09 7:56 PM

102 Issues on Human Resource DevelopmentG

arav

an e

t al.,

(199

5)Po

rter (

1985

), H

arris

on (1

983,

19

92),

Bra

tton

(199

2), N

adle

r &

Nad

ler (

1989

), A

STD

(199

0),

Gue

st (1

999)

, G

arav

an e

t al.,

(1

995)

, Bee

r &

Spec

tor (

1989

), R

othw

ell &

K

azan

as (1

991)

, M

eggi

nson

&

Pedl

ar (1

992)

- Foc

us o

n th

e em

erge

nce

of

stra

tegi

c H

RD

(SH

RD

).- H

RD

rela

tes t

o Po

rter’s

no

tion

of c

ompe

titiv

e ad

vant

age,

hum

an re

sour

ces

and

stra

tegy

- Infl

uenc

ed b

y th

e su

cces

s of

Japa

nese

com

pani

es o

n a

high

ly tr

aine

d an

d de

velo

ped

wor

kfor

ce.

- Pre

sent

defi

nitio

n/no

tion

of H

RD

, SH

RD

, and

as

sum

ptio

n of

SH

RD

- the

idea

is c

onsi

sten

t to

the

HR

D’s

ro

le o

f cap

abili

ty-d

riven

(Luo

ma,

20

00)

Chapter 6.indd 102 3/11/09 7:56 PM


Gar

avan

et a

l., (1

995)

Porte

r (19

85),

Har

rison

(198

3,

1992

), B

ratto

n (1

992)

, Nad

ler &

N

adle

r (19

89),

AST

D (1

990)

, G

uest

(199

9),

Gar

avan

et a

l.,

(199

5), B

eer &

Sp

ecto

r (19

89),

Rot

hwel

l &

Kaz

anas

(199

1),

Meg

gins

on &

Pe

dlar

(199

2)

- Foc

us o

n th

e em

erge

nce

of

stra

tegi

c H

RD

(SH

RD

).- H

RD

rela

tes t

o Po

rter’s

no

tion

of c

ompe

titiv

e ad

vant

age,

hum

an re

sour

ces

and

stra

tegy

- Infl

uenc

ed b

y th

e su

cces

s of

Japa

nese

com

pani

es o

n a

high

ly tr

aine

d an

d de

velo

ped

wor

kfor

ce.

- Pre

sent

defi

nitio

n/no

tion

of H

RD

, SH

RD

, and

as

sum

ptio

n of

SH

RD

- the

idea

is c

onsi

sten

t to

the

HR

D’s

ro

le o

f cap

abili

ty-d

riven

(Luo

ma,

20

00)

Gar

avan

et a

l., (1

999)

Har

rison

(199

7),

Gar

avan

(199

1),

Stew

ard

&

McG

oldr

ick

(199

6)

Boy

dell

& L

eary

(1

996)

, Bra

tton

& G

old

(199

4),

Bris

tow

& S

carth

(1

980)

, Stu

art &

Lo

ng (1

985a

, b),

Slom

an (1

994)

, Sa

unde

rs &

H

olda

way

(199

2),

Mar

chin

gton

&

Wilk

inso

n (1

996)

, G

arav

an e

t al.,

(1

995)

, O’D

onne

ll &

Gar

avan

(199

7),

Mum

ford

(199

7),

Ham

mon

d&W

illie

(1

991)

- no

unifi

ed m

odel

, com

plex

, pr

oble

mat

ic, l

ead

to

conf

usio

n- p

rese

nt d

imen

sion

of H

RD

- mod

els o

f HR

D b

ased

on

3 m

ajor

stra

nds (

tradi

tiona

l/cl

assi

cal,

core

-com

pete

ncy,

st

rate

gic

HR

D)

- the

idea

is c

onsi

sten

t with

W

imbi

scus

(199

5), L

ynha

m (2

000)

, Sa

mbr

ook

(200

4), T

reha

n (2

004)

Chapter 6.indd 103 3/11/09 7:56 PM

104 Issues on Human Resource DevelopmentLy

nham

(200

0)C

halo

fsky

(1

996,

199

8),

Mar

sick

(199

0),

Swan

son

(199

7a)

Wei

nber

ger (

1998

), C

ampb

ell (

1990

), D

ubin

(197

6,

1978

), M

arsi

ck

(199

0), M

ott

(199

6, 1

998)

- lac

k of

a p

hilo

soph

ical

fr

amew

ork

to g

uide

theo

ry

and

prac

tice

in H

RD

. It

caus

es te

nsio

n be

twee

n th

e re

sear

cher

and

the

prac

titio

ner.

- HR

D is

a re

lativ

ely

youn

g pr

ofes

sion

- Con

sist

ent w

ith W

imbi

scus

(199

5),

Gar

avan

et a

l., (1

999)

, Sam

broo

k (2

004)

, Tre

han

(200

4)

Sam

broo

k (2

004)

Sam

broo

k (2

007)

Bla

ke (1

995,

p.2

), Sa

mbr

ook

(199

8,

2000

, 200

1),

McG

oldr

ick

et

al.,

(200

2, p

.396

), B

ates

et a

l.,

(200

1), M

cLea

n 91

998)

, Lee

(1

998)

, Sw

anso

n (1

999)

- unc

lear

con

cept

of H

RD

- rel

ates

to c

once

pt o

f m

anag

emen

t lea

rnin

g- s

ocia

l and

dis

curs

ive

cons

truct

ion

- und

erst

and

the

purp

ose

of

HR

D- f

ocus

on

wha

t HR

D

prac

titio

ners

do

(act

ion)

, and

ho

w th

ey ta

lk a

bout

wha

t th

ey d

o (a

ll ta

lk).

- crit

ical

HR

D

- the

idea

is C

onsi

sten

t with

W

imbi

scus

(199

5), G

arav

an e

t al.,

(1

999)

, Lyn

ham

(200

0), T

reha

n (2

004)

- thi

s ide

a is

con

sist

ent w

ith R

igg

et

al.,

2007

. The

aut

hors

hig

hlig

ht th

at

tradi

tiona

l HR

D is

mul

ti-di

scip

linar

y (i.

e., e

cono

mic

s, be

havi

oris

t ps

ycho

logy

and

soci

olog

y)

conc

erne

d an

d di

fficu

lt to

defi

ne. I

n ad

ditio

n th

e te

rm o

f HR

D e

volv

ed

acro

ss th

e w

orld

: adu

lt ed

ucat

ion

(Am

eric

a), w

ork-

base

d tra

inin

g (E

urop

e), o

rgan

izat

ion

deve

lopm

ent

Chapter 6.indd 104 3/11/09 7:56 PM


Lynh

am (2

000)

Cha

lofs

ky

(199

6, 1

998)

, M

arsi

ck (1

990)

, Sw

anso

n (1

997a

) W

einb

erge

r (19

98),

Cam

pbel

l (19

90),

Dub

in (1

976,

19

78),

Mar

sick

(1

990)

, Mot

t (1

996,

199

8)

- lac

k of

a p

hilo

soph

ical

fr

amew

ork

to g

uide

theo

ry

and

prac

tice

in H

RD

. It

caus

es te

nsio

n be

twee

n th

e re

sear

cher

and

the

prac

titio

ner.

- HR

D is

a re

lativ

ely

youn

g pr

ofes

sion

- Con

sist

ent w

ith W

imbi

scus

(199

5),

Gar

avan

et a

l., (1

999)

, Sam

broo

k (2

004)

, Tre

han

(200

4)

Sam

broo

k (2

004)

Sam

broo

k (2

007)

Bla

ke (1

995,

p.2

), Sa

mbr

ook

(199

8,

2000

, 200

1),

McG

oldr

ick

et

al.,

(200

2, p

.396

), B

ates

et a

l.,

(200

1), M

cLea

n 91

998)

, Lee

(1

998)

, Sw

anso

n (1

999)

- unc

lear

con

cept

of H

RD

- rel

ates

to c

once

pt o

f m

anag

emen

t lea

rnin

g- s

ocia

l and

dis

curs

ive

cons

truct

ion

- und

erst

and

the

purp

ose

of

HR

D- f

ocus

on

wha

t HR

D

prac

titio

ners

do

(act

ion)

, and

ho

w th

ey ta

lk a

bout

wha

t th

ey d

o (a

ll ta

lk).

- crit

ical

HR

D

- the

idea

is C

onsi

sten

t with

W

imbi

scus

(199

5), G

arav

an e

t al.,

(1

999)

, Lyn

ham

(200

0), T

reha

n (2

004)

- thi

s ide

a is

con

sist

ent w

ith R

igg

et

al.,

2007

. The

aut

hors

hig

hlig

ht th

at

tradi

tiona

l HR

D is

mul

ti-di

scip

linar

y (i.

e., e

cono

mic

s, be

havi

oris

t ps

ycho

logy

and

soci

olog

y)

conc

erne

d an

d di

fficu

lt to

defi

ne. I

n ad

ditio

n th

e te

rm o

f HR

D e

volv

ed

acro

ss th

e w

orld

: adu

lt ed

ucat

ion

(Am

eric

a), w

ork-

base

d tra

inin

g (E

urop

e), o

rgan

izat

ion

deve

lopm

ent

Treh

an (2

004)

Mc

Laga

n (1

983)

, St

ewar

d &

M

cGol

dric

k (1

996)

M

cGol

dric

k et

al.,

(2

001)

, Wal

ton

(199

9)

- ove

rlapp

ing

conc

ept

amon

g H

RD

, HR

M, a

nd

man

agem

ent l

earn

ing.

- H

RD

bey

ond

T&D

- enc

ompa

sses

lear

ning

fu

nctio

ns- o

ngoi

ng c

onte

ntio

n to

de

fine

HR

D

- the

idea

is c

onsi

sten

t with

W

imbi

scus

(199

5), G

arav

an e

t al.,

(1

999)

, Lyn

ham

(200

0), S

ambr

ook

(200

4)

Sim

mon

ds &

Ped

erse

n (2

006)

Swan

son

(200

1)- d

efine

HR

D b

eyon

d T&

D.

T&D

is c

omm

only

ass

ocia

ted

with

“ha

rd”

form

s of H

RD

.- H

RD

is a

com

bina

tion

of

stru

ctur

ed a

nd u

nstru

ctur

ed

lear

ning

and

per

form

ance

-ba

sed

activ

ities

(hol

istic

ap

proa

ch) w

hich

dev

elop

in

divi

dual

and

org

aniz

atio

nal

com

pete

ncy,

cap

abili

ty a

nd

capa

city

to c

ope

with

and

su

cces

sful

ly m

anag

e ch

ange

.

- the

idea

is c

onsi

sten

t with

Tre

han

(200

4)

- the

idea

is c

onsi

sten

t with

W

imbi

scus

(199

5) o

n th

e id

ea o

f co

mpe

titiv

e ad

vant

age

whi

ch h

as

a si

gnifi

cant

influ

ence

on

HR

D

form

atio

n.

Tabl

e 2:

A S

umm

ary

of H

RD

Par

adig

m

Chapter 6.indd 105 3/11/09 7:56 PM


Although the concepts, model and definition of HRD are still ongoing , continuous attempts to investigate HRD to provide better understanding and practice is very important (Sambrook, 2007). In addition, the contribution of HRD towards the development of people, process, and organization should not be ignored.

THE PRACTICES OF HRM/D

The term of “HRM” is considered in this section, due to the possibility of overlapping concepts and practices of both “HRM” and “HRD” (Trehan, 2004). The examples of HRM/D practices presented in this section serve as a guideline and support the limitation of HRD theories itself. At the same time, the practices will add value to the understanding of the HRD scope and its major role in organizations.

HRD Practices in Other Countries

Table 3 presents a comparison of HRD model typically found in small organizations with one typically engendered through the adoption of the Investors in People (IIP) standard. The IIP may be considered as the UK’s national standard for linking training and development activities within organizations to business strategy (Hill and Stewart, 2000). The model presented does not advocate that one model is “better” than the other, just that they differ from each other. The comparison of the two models is based on the process of HRD itself.

Chapter 6.indd 106 3/11/09 7:56 PM


HRD PROCESSS SME Model of HRD Requirements

IIP Model of HRD Requirement

PLANNING

HRD not seen as a core business

process with minimal planning and no apparent link to

organizational plans and goals

Lack of internal HRD expertise

Commitment to T&D is from the top of the company and is communicated to all and there is a written, flexible business

plan

T&D needs are planned and reviewed in line with business

plan and goals

Everyone in the organization understands their role and

contribution to business goals

Responsibility for T&D is identified and understood by all

T&D is planned at organizational, team and

individual levels

Open system – encourages link to external standards and

scrutinyInternal HRD expertise needed/

encouraged

Chapter 6.indd 107 3/11/09 7:56 PM


DOING

T&D activities are ad hoc, selective and aimed at the satisfaction of

immediate, job-related, problem-solving needs of

individuals

Preference for on-the-job training

with little emphasis on personal

development

Individualistic model influenced by the motivation and skills of the owner/manager

encouraging a closed system


T&D activities apply to the whole workforce and take place

to meet organizational, team and individual needs

New employees and employees changing jobs receive induction

training

All employees are made aware of T&D opportunities within

the organization

Managers are effective in carrying out their T&D responsibilities and are

involved in helping employees meet their T&D needs

Employees are encouraging to identify and meet their job-

related T&D needsInternal HRD expertise needed/

encouraged

Chapter 6.indd 108 3/11/09 7:56 PM


EVALUATING

No apparent evaluation of T&D

activities carried out

Little awareness by owner/manager of

costs and benefits of T&D


Impact of T&D activities on knowledge, skills, attitudes and

performance is assessed

Impact of the contribution of T&D in meeting business goals

is assessed

Top management understands the broad costs and benefits of

T&D

Improvement to T&D are identified and implemented

Top management continues to demonstrate its commitment to

T&D to all employeesInternal HRD expertise needed/

encouraged(source: Hill and Stewart, 2000)

The size and type of organization influence the practice of HRD itself. From the comparison shown in Table 3 above, it can be said that HRD department may not exists and not be formally established within the SME organization.

On the other hand, the best practices of HR also demonstrate HRD practices in organization. Based on the IPMA HR Benchmarking, two organizations were reviewed on their success in training and development (T&D) strategies (Table 4). Even though the best practices shown are in the training and development solely, however the practices contribute to how organizations can excel in exercising their T&D function.

Table 3: Comparison of the HRD models typically found in small organizations and Investors in People (IIP)

Chapter 6.indd 109 3/11/09 7:56 PM

110 Issues on Human Resource DevelopmentO

rgan

izat

ion

Cha

ract

eris

tics

that

Refl

ect

Bes

t Pra

ctic

es

T&D

Stra

tegi

c A

lignm

ent

Stru

ctur

e Fu

nctio

nA

sses

smen

t and

Tr

ansf

er o

f Lea

rnin

g

Bro

war

d C

ount

y,

Flor

ida

- alig

ns

train

ing

with

or

gani

zatio

nal

stra

tegy

- the

impa

ct

of T

&D

is

mea

sure

d by

ass

essi

ng

skill

s and

be

havi

ors

befo

re

and

afte

r co

mpl

etin

g th

e pr

ogra

ms

- sha

red

resp

onsi

bilit

y w

ith

man

ager

s, su

perv

isor

s, Em

ploy

ee

Dev

elop

men

t an

d H

Rs

- stra

tegi

c go

als s

et b

y th

e B

oard

of

Cou

nty

Com

mis

sion

ers

- a b

usin

ess

plan

to a

chie

ve

the

goal

s- a

dmin

istra

tive

man

date

s- e

mpl

oyee

pe

rfor

man

ce

impr

ovem

ent

and

train

ing

need

s- a

life

long

le

arni

ng

envi

ronm

ent

- cha

nges

in

the

wor

k en

viro

nmen

t, te

chno

logy

, and

in

nova

tion

- the

trai

ning

func

tion

is in

the

Empl

oyee

de

velo

pmen

t sec

tion

of

the

Hum

an R

esou

rces

D

ivis

ion

- offe

rs tr

aini

ng p

rogr

am

whi

ch is

con

duct

ed o

n co

unty

tim

e an

d pa

id fo

r by

the

coun

ty.

- cou

rsew

ork

incl

udes

jo

b, p

erso

nal o

r pr

ofes

sion

al sk

ill

deve

lopm

ent,

as w

ell

as te

chni

cal,

care

er a

nd

prom

otio

nal d

evel

opm

ent

- exa

mpl

es: g

ener

ic

train

ing,

man

dato

ry

train

ing,

ope

ratio

nal

train

ing,

wor

kfor

ce

deve

lopm

ent,

retu

rn

to sc

hool

initi

ativ

es,

educ

atio

nal l

eave

The

Empl

oyee

de

velo

pmen

t se

ctio

n’s

func

tions

incl

ude:

- org

aniz

atio

nal

lear

ning

- pro

cess

im

prov

emen

t- r

esou

rce

man

agem

ent

- int

erna

l co

nsul

ting

- fac

ilita

ting

chan

ge- m

anag

ing

liabi

lity

- rep

ortin

g-in

tern

al/e

xter

nal

par

tner

ing

- ass

essm

ent d

one

befo

re a

nd a

fter

prog

ram

s- e

mpl

oyee

de

velo

pmen

t and

HR

s ar

e re

spon

sibl

e fo

r the

tra

inin

g- l

inki

ng T

&D

to

orga

niza

tiona

l nee

ds

requ

ires f

orgi

ng

clos

e w

orki

ng

rela

tions

hips

with

ag

ency

lead

ersh

ip,

alig

ning

em

ploy

ee

perf

orm

ance

with

the

agen

cy’s

per

form

ance

an

d bu

sine

ss p

lan,

an

d lin

king

em

ploy

ee

impr

ovem

ent/

lear

ning

nee

ds w

ith

perf

orm

ance

.

Chapter 6.indd 110 3/11/09 7:56 PM


Org

aniz

atio

nC

hara

cter

istic

s th

at R

eflec

t B

est P

ract

ices

T&

D

Stra

tegi

c A

lignm

ent

Stru

ctur

e Fu

nctio

nA

sses

smen

t and

Tr

ansf

er o

f Lea

rnin

g

Bro

war

d C

ount

y,

Flor

ida

- alig

ns

train

ing

with

or

gani

zatio

nal

stra

tegy

- the

impa

ct

of T

&D

is

mea

sure

d by

ass

essi

ng

skill

s and

be

havi

ors

befo

re

and

afte

r co

mpl

etin

g th

e pr

ogra

ms

- sha

red

resp

onsi

bilit

y w

ith

man

ager

s, su

perv

isor

s, Em

ploy

ee

Dev

elop

men

t an

d H

Rs

- stra

tegi

c go

als s

et b

y th

e B

oard

of

Cou

nty

Com

mis

sion

ers

- a b

usin

ess

plan

to a

chie

ve

the

goal

s- a

dmin

istra

tive

man

date

s- e

mpl

oyee

pe

rfor

man

ce

impr

ovem

ent

and

train

ing

need

s- a

life

long

le

arni

ng

envi

ronm

ent

- cha

nges

in

the

wor

k en

viro

nmen

t, te

chno

logy

, and

in

nova

tion

- the

trai

ning

func

tion

is in

the

Empl

oyee

de

velo

pmen

t sec

tion

of

the

Hum

an R

esou

rces

D

ivis

ion

- offe

rs tr

aini

ng p

rogr

am

whi

ch is

con

duct

ed o

n co

unty

tim

e an

d pa

id fo

r by

the

coun

ty.

- cou

rsew

ork

incl

udes

jo

b, p

erso

nal o

r pr

ofes

sion

al sk

ill

deve

lopm

ent,

as w

ell

as te

chni

cal,

care

er a

nd

prom

otio

nal d

evel

opm

ent

- exa

mpl

es: g

ener

ic

train

ing,

man

dato

ry

train

ing,

ope

ratio

nal

train

ing,

wor

kfor

ce

deve

lopm

ent,

retu

rn

to sc

hool

initi

ativ

es,

educ

atio

nal l

eave

The

Empl

oyee

de

velo

pmen

t se

ctio

n’s

func

tions

incl

ude:

- org

aniz

atio

nal

lear

ning

- pro

cess

im

prov

emen

t- r

esou

rce

man

agem

ent

- int

erna

l co

nsul

ting

- fac

ilita

ting

chan

ge- m

anag

ing

liabi

lity

- rep

ortin

g-in

tern

al/e

xter

nal

par

tner

ing

- ass

essm

ent d

one

befo

re a

nd a

fter

prog

ram

s- e

mpl

oyee

de

velo

pmen

t and

HR

s ar

e re

spon

sibl

e fo

r the

tra

inin

g- l

inki

ng T

&D

to

orga

niza

tiona

l nee

ds

requ

ires f

orgi

ng

clos

e w

orki

ng

rela

tions

hips

with

ag

ency

lead

ersh

ip,

alig

ning

em

ploy

ee

perf

orm

ance

with

the

agen

cy’s

per

form

ance

an

d bu

sine

ss p

lan,

an

d lin

king

em

ploy

ee

impr

ovem

ent/

lear

ning

nee

ds w

ith

perf

orm

ance

.

Tabl

e 4:

Bes

t Pra

ctic

es o

f Tra

inin

g an

d D

evel

opm

ent

Hen

nepi

n C

ount

y,

Min

neso

ta

- T&

D a

re

linke

d to

the

stra

tegi

c pl

an- O

n go

ing

basi

s of

asse

ssm

ent

- Inv

olve

men

t of

the

Empl

oyee

de

velo

pmen

t an

d th

e Tr

aini

ng

Man

ager

- Stro

ng

emph

asis

on

tran

sfer

of

lear

ning

th

roug

h ac

tion

plan

s tha

t tra

ck b

ehav

ior

chan

ge a

nd

thro

ugh

peer

co

achi

ng

- ide

ntifi

ed

com

pete

ncie

s re

quire

d to

ac

hiev

e th

e co

unty

’s

stra

tegi

c pl

an- t

rain

ing

is a

ligne

d w

ith th

ose

com

pete

ncie

s- i

dent

ify

the

key

com

pete

ncie

s fo

r dire

ctor

s, m

anag

ers,

supe

rvis

ors,

and

all

empl

oyee

s- t

rain

ing

is a

ke

y re

tent

ion

stra

tegy

- T&

D re

ports

to

the

Offi

ce o

f HR

s an

d is

alig

ned

with

a

posi

tion

in C

ount

y A

dmin

istra

tion

calle

d Le

arni

ng C

omm

unity

M

anag

er (w

orki

ng o

n or

gani

zatio

nal c

hang

e to

m

ake

lear

ning

an

inte

gral

pa

rt of

cou

nty

wor

k)

The

mai

n fo

cuse

s of

T&

D a

re:

(1) m

anag

er

and

supe

rvis

or

train

ing,

supp

ort

staf

f tra

inin

g an

d (2

) tra

inin

g fo

r al

l em

ploy

ees

(incl

udin

g ca

reer

de

velo

pmen

t)

Spec

ific

appr

oach

es o

f as

sess

men

t inc

lude

s:- a

nnua

l dep

artm

ent

mee

tings

and

stra

tegi

c pl

an re

view

s- a

nnua

l cou

ntyw

ide

stra

tegi

c pl

anni

ng

proc

ess

- fee

dbac

k fr

om

train

ing

partn

ers

- cus

tom

er fe

edba

ck- a

naly

sis o

f pe

rfor

man

ce

Lear

ning

tran

sfer

oc

curs

thro

ugh

actio

n pl

anni

ng in

eac

h tra

inin

g se

ssio

n,

peer

coa

chin

g ci

rcle

s as

supp

ort f

or n

ew

supe

rvis

or tr

aini

ng,

job

aids

, and

em

ails

to

man

ager

s fro

m th

e tra

inin

g st

aff.

(sou

rce:

Bjo

nber

g, 2

002)

Chapter 6.indd 111 3/11/09 7:56 PM


In practice, the term “HRD” itself would not have been encountered by some industries. Moreover, some of them did not have a specific HRD department. Even if the companies did have the department, the activities covered were broader than learning and development, thus included recruitment and human resource planning (Weil and Woodall, 2005). As mentioned by Trehan (2004) these are overlapping concepts and practices between HRD, HRM, and management learning. In order to define the term, the firm’s description on activities that relate to HRD helps to express the definition (Table 5).

Chapter 6.indd 112 3/11/09 7:56 PM

113The Notion of HRD: A ReviewIn

dust

ryH

RD

Defi

nitio

nSp

ecifi

c H

RD

’s C

ontri

butio

n to

Cor

pora

te S

trate

gyN

otes

Elec

tricC

o- u

se th

e H

RD

term

an

d as

spec

ific

HR

D d

epar

tmen

t. (H

owev

er, d

efini

tion

is n

ot m

entio

ned

by

the

rese

arch

er)

- HR

act

iviti

es w

ere

impo

rtant

to re

aliz

e bu

sine

ss

obje

ctiv

e- t

he m

anag

emen

t of p

eopl

e w

as p

rese

nted

as t

he

key

to im

prov

ing

cust

omer

focu

s and

satis

fact

ion,

co

mpe

titiv

enes

s, le

ader

ship

, inn

ovat

ion,

and

the

impl

emen

tatio

n of

cha

nge.

- E

mpl

oyee

lear

ning

and

rela

ted

issu

es w

ere

ackn

owle

dged

as s

trate

gica

lly im

porta

nt b

y al

l or

gani

zatio

ns, a

nd o

ften

just

ifies

in re

latio

n to

lo

nger

term

wor

kfor

ce p

lann

ing

such

as i

ncre

asin

g em

ploy

ee jo

b sa

tisfa

ctio

n an

d m

otiv

atio

n.

- all

clai

med

that

hum

an

reso

urce

s wer

e at

the

hear

t of

thei

r cor

pora

te st

rate

gy

- per

ceiv

ed H

RD

func

tion

as su

ppor

ting

corp

orat

e st

rate

gy b

y pr

ovid

ing

train

ing

and

othe

r lea

rnin

g op

portu

nitie

s, an

d H

RD

w

as a

lso

incr

easi

ngly

seen

as

an

activ

ity th

at is

shar

ed

with

line

man

ager

s and

em

ploy

ees (

indi

cate

s a

mov

e to

war

ds b

ecom

ing

a st

rate

gic

partn

er)

- stro

ng re

sist

ance

to

outs

ourc

ing

HR

M in

gen

eral

an

d H

RD

in p

artic

ular

(n

one

of th

e or

gani

zatio

ns

expr

essi

ng a

ny in

tere

st in

th

is)

Com

mun

icat

ions

Co

“…C

ompe

tenc

ies

man

agem

ent,

job

man

agem

ent,

rem

uner

atio

n m

anag

emen

t and

tra

inin

g”.

- the

prio

rity

was

on

the

rede

ploy

men

t of s

taff

follo

win

g th

e pl

anne

d jo

b lo

sses

of 2

2,00

0 ov

er th

e fo

llow

ing

thre

e ye

ars.

- had

cre

ated

a n

ew in

tern

al tr

aini

ng re

spon

sibl

e fo

r a

mas

sive

com

pete

nce

deve

lopm

ent p

lan

invo

lvin

g co

nsid

erab

le u

se o

f e-le

arni

ng.

- has

effo

rt of

mov

es to

tran

sfor

m th

e H

RD

fu

nctio

n fr

om a

cos

t to

profi

t cen

tre.

- set

up

train

ing

cent

res i

n va

rious

bus

ines

s uni

ts

for t

he p

urpo

se o

f cen

traliz

ing

train

ing

polic

y an

d m

aint

aini

ng a

glo

bal v

iew

and

con

trol o

ver

inve

stm

ent i

n tra

inin

g

Chapter 6.indd 113 3/11/09 7:56 PM

114 Issues on Human Resource DevelopmentSe

mic

ondu

ctor

Co

“…re

crui

tmen

t, in

tegr

atio

n, tr

aini

ng

and

pers

onal

de

velo

pmen

t..”,

with

an

em

phas

is u

pon

recr

uitm

ent o

f hig

h po

tent

ial c

andi

date

s an

d co

ntin

uous

de

velo

pmen

t ba

sed

upon

the

use

of p

erso

nal

deve

lopm

ent p

lans

.

- em

phas

ized

on

alig

ning

all

HR

pol

icy

glob

ally

. H

as a

glo

bal c

aree

r man

agem

ent p

olic

y ba

cked

up

by a

glo

bal “

corp

orat

e un

iver

sity

”- s

et u

p tra

inin

g ce

ntre

s in

vario

us b

usin

ess u

nits

fo

r the

pur

pose

of c

entra

lizin

g tra

inin

g po

licy

and

mai

ntai

ning

a g

loba

l vie

w a

nd c

ontro

l ove

r in

vest

men

t in

train

ing

Chapter 6.indd 114 3/11/09 7:56 PM

115The Notion of HRD: A ReviewC

hem

iCo

“…in

duct

ion,

in

tegr

atio

n,

enco

urag

ing

mob

ility

and

job

chan

ge, m

anag

ing

care

ers o

n an

in

tern

atio

nal l

evel

s, im

prov

ing

indi

vidu

al

and

colle

ctiv

e ki

lls,

chan

ging

beh

avio

r, de

velo

ping

futu

re

team

s, m

otiv

atin

g an

d re

war

ding

staf

f”.

The

mai

n ac

tiviti

es

wer

e fo

cuse

d ar

ound

a p

roje

ct o

n st

aff m

otiv

atio

n,

indu

ctio

n ca

reer

m

anag

emen

t and

hu

man

reso

urce

pl

anni

ng.

- Em

ploy

ee le

arni

ng a

nd re

late

d is

sues

wer

e ac

know

ledg

ed a

s stra

tegi

cally

impo

rtant

by

all

orga

niza

tions

, and

ofte

n ju

stifi

es in

rela

tion

to

long

er te

rm w

orkf

orce

pla

nnin

g su

ch a

s cop

ing

with

an

agei

ng w

orkf

orce

, or i

ncre

asin

g jo

b sa

tisfa

ctio

n an

d m

otiv

atio

n.

- set

up

train

ing

cent

res i

n va

rious

bus

ines

s uni

ts

for t

he p

urpo

se o

f cen

traliz

ing

train

ing

polic

y an

d m

aint

aini

ng a

glo

bal v

iew

and

con

trol o

ver

inve

stm

ent i

n tra

inin

g

Chapter 6.indd 115 3/11/09 7:56 PM

116 Issues on Human Resource DevelopmentSp

ortC

o“…

indu

ctio

n an

d sk

ill d

evel

opm

ent,

hum

an re

sour

ce

plan

ning

, sta

ff m

obili

ty a

nd

depl

oym

ent a

nd

accr

edita

tion

of

lear

ning

at w

ork”

.

Empl

oyee

lear

ning

and

rela

ted

issu

es w

ere

ackn

owle

dged

as s

trate

gica

lly im

porta

nt b

y al

l or

gani

zatio

ns, a

nd o

ften

just

ifies

in re

latio

n to

lo

nger

term

wor

kfor

ce

Supe

rmar

ket

- use

the

HR

D te

rm

and

as sp

ecifi

c H

RD

de

partm

ent

“…ex

tern

al

recr

uitm

ent,

inte

rnal

pro

mot

ion,

re

depl

oym

ent,

pers

onal

de

velo

pmen

t pl

anni

ng, h

uman

re

sour

ce p

lann

ing,

an

d em

ploy

ee

attit

ude

surv

eys a

s w

ell a

s tra

inin

g”.

(not

stat

ed)

(sou

rce:

Wei

l and

Woo

dall,

200

5)

Tabl

e 5:

HR

D in

Fra

nce

Chapter 6.indd 116 3/11/09 7:56 PM


The Best Practices of HR in Malaysia

The researcher has summarized (Table 6) some of the best practices in HR being benchmarked by the National Productivity Corporation (NPC) 2003-2005. The practices are based on the descriptions of activities conducted in organizations.

Organization Human Resource Practices NotesAmerican International Assurance Company (AIG)

- has strong commitment in employee personal growth and development through the provision of high quality T&D services offered by the Regional Staff Training & Development department.- all the employees strive to acquire the leadership competencies as lined up by senior management (continuously learning environment) - some of the examples of enrich T&D programmes includes: regional training (sharing of best practices between region to promote culture of continuous learning), global e-learning, corporate intranet, training and education programmes, customized training and consultation, external/functional training, resource centre, education assisted prorammes, elevator talks, HR e-bulletin, weekly empowerment message, people building project, core employee development, management associate programme, individual development plan. - all the intervention at the organization level taken to promote continuous learning in order to prepare employees who will be able to adapt more readily to changing business environment and maintain their upward careers.

The practices are related to the concept of HRD as discussed before. It can be said that the key successful of HR practice for this firm is by using its HRD strategy to develop their human resources and become the best practices of HR. For example, the firm is emphasizing on continuous learning as their strategy in successfully managing HR

Chapter 6.indd 117 3/11/09 7:56 PM


Petronas - value for employees’ existence and their contribution. - based on employee engagement to motivate and retain employees, such as: exercise organization’s values and beliefs from top to down, challenging work opportunities (i.e. self-driven on career development, emphasized on capability driven), balanced work life (i.e. sports club, young professional club), communication (i.e. transparency and value employees’ opinion), reward and remuneration (i.e. total remuneration philosophy), performance driven (i.e. 360 degree feedback for development), competency-based (i.e., skills group development programme, multi-tasking program)

The strategy and best practice used are based on the combination of both HRM and HRD. In particular, the HRD strategy used is skill or competency development.

Matsushita or Panasonic

- has strong effort in creation of continuous learning culture.- activities includes:- mindset change through structural reform (i.e. active R&D needs employees to ready to take challenge), building corporate strength based on technology and intellectual properties (i.e. encourage all employees to be innovative and be creative and apply ‘adaptability’), accelerating strategic investments (i.e. provide more job opportunities and create learning opportunities for employee to learn about new technology), renewing corporate culture (i.e. to prepare employees for change), yearly corporate slogan (i.e. employees should prepare their mindset), education for employees)

The best strategy used in this firm is continuous learning and learning is one of the main responsibility of HRD

Chapter 6.indd 118 3/11/09 7:56 PM


Petronas - value for employees’ existence and their contribution. - based on employee engagement to motivate and retain employees, such as: exercise organization’s values and beliefs from top to down, challenging work opportunities (i.e. self-driven on career development, emphasized on capability driven), balanced work life (i.e. sports club, young professional club), communication (i.e. transparency and value employees’ opinion), reward and remuneration (i.e. total remuneration philosophy), performance driven (i.e. 360 degree feedback for development), competency-based (i.e., skills group development programme, multi-tasking program)

The strategy and best practice used are based on the combination of both HRM and HRD. In particular, the HRD strategy used is skill or competency development.

Matsushita or Panasonic

- has strong effort in creation of continuous learning culture.- activities includes:- mindset change through structural reform (i.e. active R&D needs employees to ready to take challenge), building corporate strength based on technology and intellectual properties (i.e. encourage all employees to be innovative and be creative and apply ‘adaptability’), accelerating strategic investments (i.e. provide more job opportunities and create learning opportunities for employee to learn about new technology), renewing corporate culture (i.e. to prepare employees for change), yearly corporate slogan (i.e. employees should prepare their mindset), education for employees)

The best strategy used in this firm is continuous learning and learning is one of the main responsibility of HRD

Nestle - activities include:- growing the young talent program, in order to improve the skills and competencies of employees

The strategy adopted is seen as similar to Matsushita and Petronas, where the secret success is underlying under the HRD strategy, i.e. continuous learning and competency development

IBM - activities include:- top talent program (identify its HR role to achieve the goals, i.e. capabilities building – talent, leadership, innovative climate, high performance, HR capability)

The strategy adopted is seen as similar to Matshushita and Petronas, where the secret success is underlying under the HRD strategy, i.e. continuous learning and competency development

Chapter 6.indd 119 3/11/09 7:56 PM


KPJ Healthcare Berhad

- leadership in nursing management, i.e. nursing career pathway program, monitoring systems on the success of the programs, strategic alliances and attachment program to give international exposure and experience, job rotation, on-the-job training, quality standards program

The strategy used in the firm is competency development, but it emphasizing more on the leadership or management development. The strategy is closely aligned to its main business, i.e., nursing.

The Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur

- activities include:- cross-functional teams, human resources policies and practices (i.e. employees’ involvement, effectiveness and productivity), cross-training and job rotation, job enlargement, quality education and training

The practices are related to the concept of HRD as discussed before. It can be said that the key successful of HR practice for this firm is by using its HRD strategy to develop their human resources and become the best practices of HR. In particular, the HRD strategies used are related to education, training and development.

Chapter 6.indd 120 3/11/09 7:56 PM


Telekom Malaysia (TM)

- has a framework of HR operating, which defines the roles of HR at group and operating companies. It also means to reduce operating costs, such as outsourcing HR supporting and administration activities

Has clear model of HR operating systems but the firm does not present detail examples of HRD practices

Samsung SDI(M) Bhd

- activities include:- improvement and efficiency by rationalization (i.e. system and corporate communication), stabilization of working rationalization (i.e. implementing employees benefits program, career development plan), learning organization (i.e. enhancing capacity to learn, adapt and change)

The strategy adopted is seen as similar to Matshushita and Petronas, where the secret success is underlying under the HRD strategy, i.e. continuous learning and competency development

Intel Malaysia

- set up an employee development system (EDS), technical competency, up-skilling the manufacturing employees engineering knowledge, management development (i.e. decision making workshop)

The strategy adopted is focusing on skill or competency development for employee and management.

Chapter 6.indd 121 3/11/09 7:56 PM


Infineon Technologies Malaysia

- activities include:- skills and KM initiatives (i.e. shared values: ‘never stop thinking’), self-managed team and small group activities to support KS, CoP (i.e. forum), reward system (i.e. knowledge and skills database).

Focus on developing knowledge workers with support of continuous improvement to become a learning organization. The HRD strategy and role used is closely related to facilitate learning

Motorola (M) Sdn Bhd

- the alignment of information management, performance measurement and operational indicator systems are achieved at every level of the personnel commitment process. - activities include: work system (i.e. employee education, training and development, employee motivation and well being), leadership supply and planning (i.e. performance management system – personal commitment), emphasized on people talent.

The practices are similar to Ritz-Carlton and the strategies used are associated with education, training and development.

To summarize, the HRD practices by most of the best practices firms in Malaysia is similarly related to the basic traditional model by Nadler (1970) which highlighted that HRD comprises of education, training and development. The development refers to both individual (including career development) and organizational level.

Table 6: Best Practices in Human Resources

Chapter 6.indd 122 3/11/09 7:56 PM


CONCLUSION

Various theoretical and practices on HRD presented reveal that there is no solid model or definition about what HRD is. However, based on the current HRD practices it can be concluded that most of the practices are greatly underlying on the well known model by Nadler and McLagan. Again, HRD is strongly related to training, education and development. Although McLagan stated that her model is no longer reliable, but the model has great influence on the HRD practices and are still being used by many researchers and authors. Thus, HRD is still seen as integrated model of training and development, career development and organization development to improve individual effectiveness.

REFERENCES

Bjornberg, L., (2002). Training and development: best practices. Public Personnel Management, 31(4), 507-516.

Brooks, K. and Nafukho, F.M. (2006). Human resource development, social capital, emotional intelligence: any link to productivity? Journal of European Industrial Training, 30(2), 117-128.

Garavan, T., Heraty, N., & Barnicle, B. (1999). Human Resource Development Literature: Current Issues, Priorities and Dilemmas. Journal of European Industrial Training, 23(4/5), 169-179.

Hill, R., & Stewart, J. (2000). Human resource development in small organizations. Journal of European Industrial Training, 24(2/3/4), 105-117.

Lynham, S.A. (2000). Theory building in the Human Resource Development profession. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 11(2), 159-178.

Nadler, L. (1984). ‘Human Resource Development’, in Nadler, L.

Chapter 6.indd 123 3/11/09 7:56 PM


(ed.) The Handbook of Human Resource Development. US: John Wiley & Sons.

National Productivity Corporation (2003). Best practices in human resource, case study, May. Selangor, Malaysia: NPC.

National Productivity Corporation (2004). Best practices in human resource, case study II, January. Selangor, Malaysia: NPC.

National Productivity Corporation (2005a). Best practices in human resource, case study III, February. Selangor, Malaysia: NPC.

National Productivity Corporation (2005b). Best practices in human resource, case study IV. Selangor, Malaysia: NPC.

Sambrook, S. (2007). ‘Exploring the notion of ‘time’ and ‘critical’ HRD’, in Rigg, C., Steward, J., & Trehan, K. (ed.) Critical Human Resource Development: Beyond Orthodoxy, England: Financial Times-Prentice Hall, p. 23-41.

Simmonds, D., and Pedersen, C. (2006). HRD: the shapes and things to come. Journal of Workplace Learning, 18(2), 122-135.

Swanson, R.A. (2001) “The discipline of Human Resource Development”, in Swanson, R.A and Holton III, E.F. (ed.) Foundation of Human Resource Development, San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, pp. 89-100.

Weil, A., & Woodall, J. (2005). HRD in France: the corporate perspective. Journal of European Training, 29(7), 529-540.

Wimbiscus, J. J. J. (1995). A Classification and Description of Human Resource Development Scholars. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 6(1), 5-34.

Chapter 6.indd 124 3/11/09 7:56 PM

96 issues on human resource developmenteprints.utm.my/id/eprint/...thenotionofhrdareview.pdf · the...

Documents