How Crucial is Human Resource Development to the Economy of Britain - Research Paper Example

Thesis ment: How crucial is HRD to the Economy of a Country: A Case Study of Britain OR HRD: An Essential Part of Business Planning Introduction The study of economics involves the optimum use of all resources: land, labour, capital and enterprise. Human capital or labour is an essential part of any business set up. While the other three factors and their contribution to any business venture is fixed, the returns from human capital are varied. It is upto each nation and organization to utilize the human capital to the maximum. According to the business gurus, the industrialized states should move away from low-technology products as these yield low profits, and instead concentrate on training their manpower for highly skilled jobs. As manpower is cheap in developing countries, these countries could concentrate on providing training for jobs that do not require such high skills. Similarly, there are developing countries that wish to compete with the advanced countries in producing specialized goods and services. To produce high-technology products would require the necessary arrangements and investments for long term research along with expensive and complex production equipment. However, providing the right environment for the skilled human resources would make them perform better. For a job to be done well, not only is a person required to have inherent talent, but also be provided with the latest skills in that particular industry. Sometime, they can be made to have the skill by hiring them from outside the organisation. But it is difficult to achieve this by training and developing the present employees. Human Resource Development (HRD) is a planned curriculum that is used in order to invest in human capital. Development of human resources is one of the most important contributors to the success of the UK economy. It draws on other human resource processes, for example resourcing and performance evaluation, so that the real and probable talent can be recognized. HRD helps to present a structure for self-development, training courses and career progression. We will recover in the following HRD at the environmental level, HRD and the organization, the learning organization, Development programmes, induction, Empowerment and HRD and Leadership development. HRD at the environmental level In order to respond to the changing demands of the job market, human capital development should be in the form of education and skills training. Some skills are a rarity even when there is high employment. Newswire Today reports that in 2007 a report was issued by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) entitled "UK Skills: Making the Grade". This report was based on a survey of over 300 employers in the UK. According to this report, 55% of the employers who were evaluated were finding it more difficult to employ skilled workers now as compared to the five years ago. In order to find a solution to this problem, in the same year the UK Government announced the major expansion in skills investment for England of over 11 billion for each of the next three years. The total spending on learning and skills is likely to increase to 12.3 billion in a year by 2010/11. This is comparing with the 6.5 billion spent in 2001/02 (Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills, n.d.). There are many differences in education and training levels in the many countries around the world. For example, in Germany, they consider technology and production as high status activities. In their opinion, to succeed in some areas, employees must have a high level of technical training. Thus German businesses give greater importance to technical advantage than those in the UK. In the UK, it is not only technology that is important but other areas as well, even the ones unconnected to the engineering and technical side. A case in point could be the Film Industry in Britain. It is only recently that the Film Industry has been credited, but it is a fact that the UK has tried to make it successful. For this purpose, the Film Industry Training Board has been set up. HRM Guide mentions "The aim of the Board is to improve skills development in the British film industry. This is the first industrial training board that has been set up in around 20 years." The role for the FITB (Film Industry Training Board) will be to manage the delivery and operations of the Skills Investment Fund (SIF). The SIF was to offer voluntary training for the Film Industry in the beginning but was to have become mandatory by the end of the 2008. HRD and the organization The results of the technological innovations are seen in increasing globalisation and the ever-increasing competition.This has resulted in organizations looking to make changes for their people-processes along with the systems. This will take place if the organization wants to adapt to the changing environment of market instability. Human capital plays a very important role because it is used to transform organizations as well as the national economies. Therefore, the organizations have started accepting the fact that human resource development is an important and necessary part of the business planning. However, this creates some challenges for the practitioners of HRD. It is very important requirement to build the managerial ability of the information market and to help organizational transformations. For this, not only are HRD professionals required but also to be encouraged in following original and diverse HRD realities in order to guarantee its integration. That would help in strengthening its future. Now there has been a change in the organizational priorities in the UK. Of late, instead of the piecemeal training activities; more importance is being attached to systemic trainings for HRD staff. Competitive advantage can be achieved from the development and organization of the human capital within the organization. This development is happening to be a learning experience for individual employees as well as the organization as a whole. For a period of time, this learning experience was summarized in the specific model of training. So the methodical training model inundated organizations to such an extent as to be recognized as of the received wisdom. This is dependent on a series of reasonable steps which usually involve the following: a training policy, a method for identifying training needs, the formulation of training the objectives, the development of a training plan, the implementation of a planned training programme and validation, evaluation and review of training. The learning organization Involvement, knowledgeable achievement and skill development are the factors important in the learning process for an organization. These three factors are the ultimate extension of the 'learning on the job'. The characteristics of a learning organization include learning approaches to strategy, participative policy making , information sharing, formative accounting and control , internal exchange , reward flexibility, enabling structures , boundary workers as environmental scanners , inter-company working, learning climate and self-development for all. Development programmes For the HRD the basic principle is that it goes more than simple training. Also, the organizational and the personal decision-making lead to the implementation of orderly and planned HRD programmes. The HRD is supposed to be part of a planned process and that will take part of competences are identified by a performance management system. In the HRD programme the training is linked to the planned development instead of being a separate activity and independent of the organization's objectives. Also, HRD programmes use a group of controlled models in which the company has prior experience along with formal training. Induction The first step in human resource development begins with proper introduction of new employees. This is the period of training that starts directly after the recruitment. Also, the inductions programmes are meant to help employees in adjusting to their job and its features. However, in reality just a few employees are actually taken through this procedure properly and sometimes feel resentful or helpless. Therefore, it is considered to put a recruit through a test of competence and can be a valuable growth experience, but there is a risk of the individual leaving the organization. According to a recent research conducted by the online learning specialist SkillSoft, 63% of the 3000 employees are surveyed feel they could be doing better in their career. However, many workers said that they get no support in the training and career development area and the bosses fail to encourage their potential. The managing director the Skill Soft, Kevin Young says: 'Just consider the productivity gains that could be achieved if UK businesses stepped up their commitment to developing their employees' skills.' (HRM Guide, 2005). Empowerment and HRD A very important idea in the scenario of HRD is empowerment. Empowerment has been noted as an important suggestion for the career make-up and work performance of employees. Also, as an agreement the employees should admit the fact of the career opportunities have reduced. In this situation HRD must aim at creating people with flexible skills who can achieve rewards from the existing jobs. Leadership development It is not easy to expect people to achieve the required qualities of leadership. A leader used to be born in olden days; today he is made. Today's leaders go through a learning process: first hand experience, learning to interact with peers and customers, perceive their needs and learning to cater to them. Managing people involves not only having the necessary experience and skills, but also a high level of emotional intelligence and ability to perceive unspoken needs. There have been various agencies: public and private engaged in leadership development in the UK. A recent study reported that employees of public sector had more exposure to regular training programmes (41%) as compared to employees of the private sector(30%) in the U.K. Conclusion People are the biggest assets of both companies and countries. So, it is never too late to invest in human capital by providing the best to your people, not only in the form of incentives, but in the form of trainings and regular development initiatives that would keep them updated and motivated to stay and work for the best interest of the company in any market condition. References Bramham, J. 1994. Human Resource Planning. 2nd ed. New York: Hyperion Books. Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills. (n.d.). Ambitious plan to help boost nation's job prospects. [Online]. Available at: http://www.dius.gov.uk/press/16-11-07.html [Accessed 17 February, 2009]. Goss, D. 1997. Human Resource Management: The Basics. 1st ed. London: International Thomson Business Press. HRM Guide. 2005. June. Learning survey. [Online]. Available at: http://www.hrmguide.co.uk/hrd/david-brent-effect.htm [Accessed 17 February, 2009]. Newswire Today. 2008, October. [Online]. Available at: http://www.newswiretoday.com/news/41678/ [Accessed 17 February, 2009]. Name: Harbi Alameri. Course: LFY in group 3. Read More