Importance of Investing in Human Resource Development - Coursework Example

Human Resource Development University’s Name: Submitted by Names: Tutor: Date: Importance of Investing in Human Resource Development One of the most important assets in every an organization is its human resource. The organization’s ability to optimize its performance largely depends on the quality of the human resources and in return, the quality of human resources depends on the training and development of employees because they sharpen the skills and the knowledge of employees (Swart et al., 2012). Therefore, human resource development (HRD) is the most important role of human resource department in any organization. HRD is a framework that enables employees to develop their individual and organizational skills and knowledge that improve their productivity (Swanson & Holton, 2001). The primary goal of HRD is to optimize the productivity of employees and important stakeholders in order to achieve the objectives of an organization (Bates, 2003). The essay, therefore, focuses on the importance of investing in HRD by looking at the trending issues in the HRM and how they impact on the HRD of an organization. Organizations should invest in HRD because they stand to benefit a lot. One of the main benefits of HRD is the improved performance in an organization. Effective HRD enables employees to develop the necessary knowledge and skills that are needed to perform various activities in an organization (Joy-Matthews, Megginson & Surtees, 2004). Consequently, the productivity of employees will improve, leading to improved performance of an organization. In addition, the organization will be more effective giving it both competitive and comparative advantages among other players in the industry in which it operates (Thite, 2013). Apart from optimizing the performance, HRD also enhances the commitment of employees to an organization. Employees who are well trained and are more efficient are more committed to their job and they tend to concentrate on one organization (Mohammed et al., 2013). Trained and efficient workers have higher job satisfaction compared to less trained workers and the former is likely to show higher levels of commitment to both the organization and the work they are doing. The organization’s more qualified and experienced employees are in constant look for greener pasture and lucrative organizations that offer better terms of employment. Therefore, it is important for an organization to strive to retain the best performing and competent employees because losing such employees hurt the performance of an organization. Unlike other resource in an organization, human resources are very dynamic and flexible because they are able to move with their acquired skills and knowledge that are acquired through HRD from one organization to another. Therefore, HRD not only requires the training and enhancing the productivity of employees, but it also incorporates investing in the retaining of employees if an organization wants to fully benefit from its investment in HRD. HRD also benefits employees directly because it enhances their career development. HRD gives an employee an opportunity to develop his career through the development of the knowledge and skills that are needed in the workplace. An employee, therefore, will be in a better position to meet the required skills and knowledge and he will be able to meet the employer’s need and the industrial needs. HRD is also important to an employee because it boosts his self-esteem, which is important in enhancing the performance. There are a number of emerging issues or trends that are inevitable and they directly or indirectly affect the performance and the productivity of an organization. The most effective way to progress from one social change and economic change are through the investment in HRD because the employees and organizations will be able to effectively adapt to the emerging issues in the organization and the industry at large. Some of the emerging trends that make it necessary for an organization to invest in HRD include the emergence of knowledge workers, rapid changes in technology, increased demand for information, and the emergence of globalization. There has been a significant increase in the number of knowledge workers across the globe. These workers are important to an organization because the application of a special knowledge is what determines the productivity of an organization. These knowledge workers always have special features that are hard to find in many employees and, therefore, knowing how to tap this special knowledge is crucial for the performance, productivity and the growth of an organization (Davenport, 2013). Some of the characteristics of knowledge workers include the ability to possess both factual and theoretical knowledge; they can easily apply the acquired information, and possess high intellectual capabilities (Zhan et al., 2014). They are different from service and routine employees. Knowledge workers, therefore, pose a challenge to the organizations because retaining them is quite expensive compared to the service and routine employees (Argote, 2012). . These employees are highly mobile between the organizations because they are highly on demand. Organizations must find all means of retaining them because losing them can significantly affect the productivity of an organization (Mohanta, 2010). In addition, they cannot just be retained through the traditional HRM and practices, which calls for a better way of dealing with them if an organization wants to maximize their productivity. However, despite the special knowledge and characteristics of knowledge worker, knowledge always becomes obsolete relatively fast. Therefore, it is important for an organization to create a favorable environment for the emergence of such workers, which is only possible through effective training and development (.Maria & Puhakka, 2015). Organizations should come up with effective HRM programs that are able to develop creative and highly intellectual workers who can add value to the productivity of an organization. Another trend is the rapid changes in technology, especially information technology (IT) call for HRD by the organizations (Peters, 2014). Organizations have not been able to maximize the benefits of technology because they invest heavily in technology without investing in human resource. Technology alone cannot add value to an organization, but it is the employees that can effectively use it to improve the productivity of an organization (Davenport, 2013). Information technology can be accessed easily, but it becomes worthless and valueless if the right knowledge and skills are no applied. Therefore, in order to utilize the available technologies to the advantage of the organization, it is important for the organization to invest in HRD. In addition, globalization has also impacted on the HRM of the organizations in the entire world. The world has become borderless and people from various ethnic and racial groups are found in all parts of the world (Marquardt et al., 2004). At the same time, people from different culture also work together in the same organization (Byrd & Scott, 2014). Improving the productivity of people from different organization and social cultures requires the strategic human resource development programs. The training and development programs should reflect the diversity in the organization. The most affected people affected by these trends are the adults, especially those belonging to Generation X. Generation X are laggards when it comes to embracing the emerging technology and the changes that come with globalization compared to generation Y (Williams & Page, 2011). Adults are also known to resist any change and they only learn when they feel they need to and they focus on the realistic problems (Lieb & Goodlad, 2005). Organization, therefore, must come with HRD programs that fit both the young and the older employees in the organization. The trends are likely to force organizations to highly motivate the older employees for them to participate in the HRD programs because they are resistant to the changes (Wlodkowski, 2011). Adult are also “technophobic” and are likely to resist any trainings that are likely to challenge their intellectual capacity. The adults, therefore, must be motivated for them to embrace the changes and to participate in the HRD programs (Knowles et al., 2014). However, organizations within countries with high adult literacy levels are not likely to feel the impact. Highly literate adults are likely to learn faster and they can easily embrace change. Organizations with quality human resource have a competitive advantage in the industry. HRD is the only viable way to improve the knowledge, skills and the expertise of employees, which in turn will improve the productivity, performance and the growth of the organization. HRD is also the best way to counter the emerging issues like improved technology and increased globalization. The emerging issues are inevitable and the only way to capitalize on the issues is to have a quality human resource. It is, therefore, crucial for organizations to invest in HRD and come up with the programs that favor all the generations in the organization. The first recommendation is the organizations to embrace diversity in their HRD programs. It is important for employees to embrace and understand other cultures, and other different diversity that will enable them to handle various conflicts that might emerge. Secondly, organizations should also invest in the programs that can help them retain the employees. An organization can train competent and qualified workers, but they end up leaving the organization to look for lucrative opportunities. Reference List Argote, L. 2012. Organizational learning: Creating, retaining and transferring knowledge. Springer Science & Business Media. Bates, R. 2003. Human resource development objectives. MARQUARDT, M. U ESCO encyclopedia on life support systems. Paris: UNESCO. Byrd, M. Y., & Scott, C. L. (Eds.). 2014. Diversity in the Workforce: Current Issues and Emerging Trends. Routledge. Davenport, T. H. 2013. Process innovation: reengineering work through information technology. Harvard Business Press. Davenport, T. H. 2013. 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