HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT:The Concept and Its Dimensions, Targets of Development

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Human Resource Development (HRM-627)

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

Human Resource Development (HRM-627)

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).

Human Resource Development (HRM-627)

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

Human Resource Development (HRM-627)

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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