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Human
Resource Development (HRM-627)
VU
Lesson
20
HUMAN
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
The
achievement of sustained and equitable
development remains the greatest
challenge facing the human
race.
Despite
good progress over the past
generation, more than 1 billion people
still live in acute poverty
and suffer
grossly
inadequate access to the
resources-education, health services, infrastructure ,
land and credit-required to
give
them a chance of a better life. The
essential task of development is to
provide opportunities so that
these
people
and hundreds of millions not
much better off, can reach
their potential.
World
Bank, 1992
The
world has progressed in many
unique ways and directions in the last
three decades. It has
developed
technologically,
economically and industrially. It is
also richer in terms of human
capabilities, facilities and
quality
of living. Improvements in education,
communication, technology and markets
have made the world a
global
village. People live longer
today, are better informed,
can communicate with one
another across the
world
and therefore carry on economic,
professional, educational, social
and other activities with
ease. These
decades
of development indicate the vast potential
for creating a world of
order, security and
well-being.
The
developments of the last three
decades also indicate that
while remarkable progress
has been made in a
number
of directions, the fruits of development have
not benefited the world's growing number of
poor
people.
And where some benefits have
reached the poor, new
problems are appearing in the
form of
deteriorating
social fabric and
environmental degradation.
The
world faces two major development
challenges. The first is to
ensure that the fruits of development
reach
the
neediest through equitable distribution
of resources, opportunities and benefits.
The second is to develop
human
capabilities and address the
challenges of development - political,
economic and social. The
few
countries
that have been able to
meet both these challenges
have demonstrated the importance of investing
in
developing
people and improving the quality of
their life through the
adoption of human
resource
development
strategies.
THE
CONTEXT AND THE NEED FOR HUMAN RESOURCE
DEVELOPMENT
Today,
there is practically no government or international
agency that does not
see the importance of human
resource
development. The World Bank; the United
Nations and its constituent
bodies include UNDP,
UNIDO,
WHO, ILO, UNICEF, UNESCO,
UNFPA, UNESCAP; regional bodies
like ASEAN and
SAARC;
the
South Commission; the Commonwealth Secretariat;
international non-government
organizations(NGO's);
and
bilateral aid agencies, all
recognize the need for , and
the importance of, human resource
development. The
components
and dimensions of human
resource development which they perceive
as being of strategic
importance
at a given point of time, for a given
country or a group of countries,
may vary, but the focus
is
uniform.
The
context for the renewed
emphasis on human resource development is
significant. The structural
adjustments
programmers adopted in a number of countries
have brought home the
vulnerability of human
development
variables. The linkages
between investments in human development
programmes and
economic
development
have become sharper. There
have been major international
developments-such as the opening
of
global
markets, the increased market
orientation of economies and the
restructuring in socialist countries-which
have
given rise to an increased competition,
forcing developing countries to
produce and market
quality
products
at competitive prices. At the same time a
range of concerns, including
environmental issues, the
changing
role of women, the new
information culture and demands
for liberalization and
democracy, are
influencing
policy and practice.
The
knowledge base surrounding human resource
development is increasing rapidly, within
government and
agencies.
It is an area where there
are many pressing demands.
These demands have to be
balanced. Resources
have
to be found, frontiers agreed
upon and strategies formulated.
These are issues with
which policy makers,
planners,
decision makers, sectoral
planners and government managers
have to contend.
This
course attempts to provide
insights into the strategic importance of
investments in developing
people,
methods
of doing the same, strategic
choices that need to be made
in developing people in terms of the
categories
of people to be targeted, processes that
could be used for effective
implementation of human
resource
development policies and programmes,
and the sectoral points of
attention which are critical
for
development.
The
course focuses particularly on the developing
countries and their human
resource development goals,
policies
and implementation strategies. In
doing so it gives particular attention to
both the question of
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Human
Resource Development (HRM-627)
VU
developing
human competencies for
economic and technological development
and to the issue of equitable
distribution
of resources, opportunities and benefits
to improve the quality of life.
The course thus sees
human
resource
development as both a means and an
end itself.
The
Concept and Its
Dimensions
People
make things happen. If people have to
make things happen, they need a
set of `circumstances' to
make
them
happen. However, it is the people that
create `circumstances' that
can help them and others to
make
things
happen. HRD
is the process of enabling people to make
things happen. It
deals both with the process
of
competency
development in people and creation of conditions
(through public policy,
programmes and other
interventions)
to help people apply these competencies
for their own benefit
and for that of others.
There are
many
things included and implied in such a
definition of HRD. These are
now briefly explained.
Competencies
and Benefits
Competencies
may include knowledge, skills, attitudes
and values. The competencies
also may deal with
any
field:
agriculture, industry, science, technology,
management, various professions
(like medicine, law,
engineering
and teaching), politics, public
administration, home science, cooking,
labor, telecommunications,
research
and tourism. The capabilities
may be developed in individuals, and
communities or collectives.
The
competencies
may be simple, like learning the
alphabets, or complex, involving
high technology applications
relating
to medicine, space, telecommunications,
defense, environment, etc. the
competencies so developed
could
`enable' people to act and
improve their own lives
and those of others. Through
such an enabling process
people
can create more alternatives
for themselves and for
others and increase their
choices. The above
definition
also emphasizes the purpose of
HRD as benefiting people, the individual,
group or the community
of
which the individual is a member.
Such benefits may be in terms of
basic needs and welfare
including a
decent
living or high level comforts, leisure
and self actualizing
opportunities.
The
individual or the group should perceive
these benefits as benefits. Thus
increased income or
purchasing
power
may be a benefit for some,
while freedom to choose one's
representative in the political system
and
freedom
of expression may be benefits for
others. Thus what is the beneficial
depends on the time, group
and
other
circumstances, and may keep
changing
Human
Development and Human Resource
Development
Some
agencies and individual
writers have made a
distinction between human
resource development and
human
development. For some, human development
is a much larger and
all-encompassing concept,
while
HRD
is limited to the skill development and
knowledge acquisitions often demanded by
organizations for
employment
purposes. They take a
limited view of HRD and
attribute it as relevant to personnel
management
practices
of the organized sector. Such a
distinction, however, is slowly disappearing
with the realization that
the
broadness and all-inclusive nature of the
concept of HRD depend on the
context in which it is used.
For
example,
it may have somewhat
restricted meaning when used in an
organizational context, though even in
an
organizational
context there is evidence of it being
used in the same sense as
human development (Silvera,
1990;
Pareek and Rao, 1981).
However, there seems to be a
convergence of the needs and
priorities set out by
various
national governments, international
agencies and experts in this
area, whether they use the term
human
development
or human resource development. The
main objection raised by a few to the
term human resource
development
is that it is a narrower concept and it
connotes more of skill development.
Another objection,
rather
a mild one, is that the word
`resource' somehow seems to
imply that human beings
are treated like
material
and other resources and as
`instruments' of development rather than the
beneficiaries of development .
The
differences are more linguistic
than conceptual and seem to
depend more on the region or affiliation.
Thus
those
associated with the UNESCAP,
ILO, CIDA, Commonwealth Secretariat
and other agencies seem
to
prefer
the term human resource development and
the UNDP prefers human development. In
the recent past,
even
UNDP has indicated a broad meaning it is
giving to the term HRD within the
context of human
development.
It defines HRD as referring to
those
Policies
and programmes that support
and sustain equitable
opportunities for continuing
acquisition and application of
skills,
knowledge
and competencies which promote
individual autonomy and are
mutually beneficial to individuals,
the community and
the
larger
environment of which they are a
part(UNDP,
BPPE, 1991, p.19).
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Human
Resource Development (HRM-627)
VU
DIMENSIONS
OF DEVELOPMENT
Implied
in the above conceptualization of HRD are
the main facets of development of people
including their
physical,
intellectual, emotional, social, moral, political,
spiritual and all other
forms of development. People
cannot
function or make things happen
unless they are physically
well developed, healthy and
free from
disease.
Thus food, nutrition and
freedom from disease become
important. People need to
earn their food
and
living
by working for it. They
need to engage themselves in
productive activities for
which again a
combination
of
both physical development and
intellectual development are important.
Intellectual development comes
through
the process of education and
socialization. Social development
involves developing the ability to
live as
a
member of the society or a group
and contribute to it, at the
same time deriving benefits from
it. The need of
coexistence
of all human beings makes
this development imperative. Political development
ensures human
dignity
through freedom of expression, democratic
participation and an opportunity to
influence things that is
turn
influence the individual's living. Moral
and spiritual development is required to
bring order, discipline
and
peace
into life and ensure
that one person's comfort
does not become his
neighbor's poison. Thus all forms
of
development
of people can be included in the definition of
HRD.
Targets
of Development
Such
a definition of HRD implies
that people may be developed
individually, or as groups, or as
communities
and
collectives. When an individual
acquires capabilities, they enable the
individual to make things
happen.
However,
societies are much more
than individuals. They are required to
function as groups and for
historic
reasons
they may also be grouped into
collectives - for example, the
poor or the landless are a collective
of
people
who are poor and
without land; some of them may
organize themselves to form action
groups.
Human
resource development also looks at the
process of developing such
groups and collectives to
function
better
or transform themselves by acquiring new
competencies. Although such
competencies are acquired
by
individuals,
there are competencies which
apply only to a group. For example, the
ability of a group to
ensure
that
credit is available to its members
from a rural bank and
that the individuals repay the
loan as per the
understanding.
Thus HRD focuses not
only on the development of individuals
but also on the
collectives.
The
target groups for development
can be many: doctors, politicians,
businessmen, civil servants,
fieldworkers,
teachers,
voluntary workers, rural
leaders, farmers, unemployed youth,
scientists, engineers,
slum-dwellers,
children,
girls, illiterates, women, labor (skilled
and unskilled), primary school goers,
university students, etc. the
target
groups can be classified on the
basis of their age, sex,
current socio-economic status, past
deprivation,
profession,
occupation, etc. some of these
groups have well-developed HRD
systems or mechanisms that
are
already
in operation as a part of their
respective sectors and/or government
intervention. The teachers in
most
countries,
for example, have a good
system of preparing themselves for
their roles and continuously
updating
their
competencies. So are the other
professionals like doctors
and managers. Their efficiency
and effectiveness
could
be improved through sectoral
interventions, as well-stabilized sectoral
institutions, departments
and/or
ministries
exist to ensure their development
and bring it in line with
the needs of the country.
Some
of the groups in a country have a
strategic significance due to the
multiplier effect their development
has
on
others. Women and girls
form one such group
which is important because of the
multiplier effect they have
on
the development of others through
families. Women and girls
have been found to influence the
education
and
the well being of the entire family.
Groups which have been
deprived for a long time due to
external
factors
are another important group
for equity considerations. Similarly, unemployed
youth and the poor
also
are
important target groups - the
youth, for the role they play in
building the future of any
nation, and the poor,
for
the impact they can have on the
economy once they develop besides equity
consideration. Development of
the
poor becomes a critical step
for ensuring a sound
economic development.
In
summary, HRD should be treated as an
integrated concept. It deals with the
development of all people and
is
not limited to any one
section or sector. It is important
and equally critical for all
sectors wherever people
are
involved
and are required to make things
happen. It is needed for all
groups, but particularly the
underprivileged;
it is needed for the unemployed, underemployed, the
employed and the self-employed; it
is
needed
by the politicians, bureaucrats and
intellectuals to play their roles better
and more effectively; it is
needed
for running the governments
effectively, for improving the
effectiveness of various agencies
and their
services;
it is needed for NGOs to be effective
and play a strategic role; it is needed
for mobilizing
resources,
community
participation and involvement; it is
needed for ensuring
economic, scientific and
technological
development
of nations; it is needed to ensure
that people leave a healthy place of
living for future
generations.
As
discussed earlier in this hand-out,
HRD encompasses two major
undertakings; the inculcation of
competencies
and capabilities in individuals, groups
and communities and, creation of
conditions through
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Human
Resource Development (HRM-627)
VU
various
mechanisms to help them apply these
acquired competencies and
capabilities, the first part of
this
course
therefore, deal with understanding of
human beings as individuals
and, the second part
revolves around
different
interventions, policies and
programs required to create optimal
conditions so that the benefits of
HRD
become far-reaching and long-lasting
for the whole
community.
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