Contemporary Development in Human Resource Development - Literature review Example

Contemporary Development in Human Resource Development

Introduction

The increasing internationalisation of business operations, coupled with increasing competition and rapidly changing consumers’ interests have influenced the desire of improving management competencies to overcome the numerous challenges posed by the environment. Organisations are seeking additional methods of improving efficiencies and effectiveness in the management of its resources including employees. Apart from the financial aspects, organisations have realised the significance of adopting excellent human resource practices as a means of achieving competitiveness. The idea is that good financial performance provides a measure of the previous success, but the people serving the organisation are the ones who determine the performance and success of the organisation in the future. Various models are available for different organisations and the choice as well as the suitability of any model goes with the individual characteristics of the corporation as well as the prevailing factors in the external environment. In essence, no single model is suitable for all organisations under all different environments and employee characteristics. However, this article will narrow its focus on two common models in the contemporary society: Expectancy theory and the Goal-Setting theory for use in the intervention of managerial staff and junior staff serving in the lowest ranks.

The Expectancy Theory

The theory bases its arguments on the fact that employees join an organisation with expectations, which the organisation must fulfill. These expectations depend on various factors such as what the employees expect the organisation to provide based on its history, financial strength or brand name, what the employees see in other organisations as well as the standards set by the government. Therefore, the performance will be higher or lower depending on the ability of the organization to meet these expectations. If the it provides lower than what employees expect, then their performance will be low, and if the it delivers equally according to their expectations then the performance will be high (Renko et al., 2012). However, the performance will be excellently higher if the organisation exceeds the expectations of employees. The theory explains the manner the organisation will relate to its employees based on the needs of employees, which applies appropriately and equally to both managers as well as the junior staff. However, the expectations of managers and junior staff may differ since the two groups are at different levels of education, skills, and rank hence; the need for evaluating their expectations differently.

The Expectancy theory is perfect for an organisation willing to achieve or establish citizenship behaviour in the workplace. This becomes most relevant for junior staff that will show commitment and satisfaction leading to reduced supervisory functions that assist in enhancing the efficiency of operations. For the managerial staff, it is suitable in provoking satisfaction and retaining skills and talents within the organisation hence proving suitability under various conditions that affect the performance of the organisation. Nimri et al. (2015) argued that meeting the needs and the expectations of employees demonstrates a commitment of the organisation to the employees hence employees reciprocate by performing highly to offer gratitude to the corporation. While supporting the same idea, Ball et al. (2016) expressed that meeting employee expectations has the high potential of reducing job stress that influence satisfaction that in turn leads to a culture of high performance in the workplace. Therefore, the theory remains relevant for both managers and junior staff in the contemporary business environment where employees are the chief drivers of organisational performance and success.

The Goal-Setting Theory

The theory, which is also highly relied in driving performance in the contemporary environment of human resource management, suggests that the organisation can achieve high performance from employees by setting clear goals and targets for them. In this case, the leadership sets goals, communicates the progress, the pending jobs as well as the sequence of performing the component activities in the process of realising the goals. Unlike the Expectancy theory, the Goal-Setting theory view performance from what the employee should do for the organisation rather than what the organisation should do for the employees. The reliability of this model for managerial staff depends heavily on the skills and experience hence; employee training, retention and proper selection become the most significant (Neubert & Dyck 2016). On the junior staff, the applicability depends on the quality of the supervision and follow up to ensure that the employees are moving at the appropriate pace required. In addition, the success of the model for both managerial as well as the junior staff depends on the accuracy of definition of tasks and the designation of the job. There should be no confusion on what the employee has to do; meaning that overlapping of duties is undesirable.

In this regard, the setting of goals and targets especially for managers should be appropriate since the job should offer a reasonably high challenge for the employee to enable him to utilise his knowledge and skills optimally. In addition, the job should not offer excessive challenge since this might promote stress and dissatisfaction. On the part of junior staff, more emphasis is on time limits since they do not heavily engage in the performance of more technical tasks that require high mental involvement. The success of the model depends on the technical strength of the leadership in evaluating tasks and employee capabilities and linking them appropriately to market requirements. Bouskila-Yam and Kluger (2011) asserts that setting of clear goals is important for influencing a culture of high performance in an organisation. The idea of setting goals and targets for employees prevents the possibility of confusion and promotes a unity of purpose toward the organisational agenda that in turn fuels high performance in a business corporation (Baron et al., 2016). Therefore, the model remains a perfect tool for influencing growth within an organisation.

The Goal-Setting Theory and Team Building

In achieving high performance and continuous improvement of operations, team building and management is very significant for an organisation. Since the establishment of teams occurs for a particular purpose, the Goal-Setting theory has a very useful application in addressing the challenges involved. However, the model presents numerous limitations hence, its application must occur skillfully with care to avoid the adverse effects that may emerge during implementation. Firstly, the model assists in providing a clear description regarding the roles and responsibilities that each member must perform. This minimises the possibility of overlapping of tasks that promote efficiency and reduces conflicts amongst the team members leading to increased efficiency. Secondly, the theory promotes the exploitation of the capabilities of team members to assign duties appropriately that increases efficiency and satisfaction, which serves to stimulate high morale amongst the members of the team. Since the theory suggests the breaking down of tasks into components and assigning a specific time for each particular activity, it becomes easier for the leadership to monitor progress made by the team (Peralta et al., 2015). This means that the leadership can exactly determine whether it is possible to achieve the desired outcome within the anticipated time. It is also easier to locate areas that require improvement or modification to improve the entire process leading to a better outcome. The other advantage is that the model assists in lowering the need for supervision to achieve the outcome required since every member has clear guidelines regarding what he should do and the time assigned for doing the particular task hence suitable in promoting maximum participation of each member. Next on the raw is that apart from evaluating the performance of the team, it is easier to evaluate the performance of each team member. This is because; in the execution of the tasks, it is clear regarding the individual assigned for each task hence easier to identify the performance because of the measure of the progress made. According to Nahrgang et al., (2013) clear description of the goals of the team, the roles, and responsibilities that each member must perform facilitates the evaluation of the success of the project as well as the contribution of each member towards the realisation of the goals of the team. Therefore, the Goals-Setting theory is very relevant in the establishment of an effective team.

On the other hand, in the use of the theory in constituting a team, some disadvantages will strike the organisation. Firstly, the model is unsuitable for the tasks and processes where the outcome is unpredictable. This is because; it is impossible to set clear goals and targets if the organisation is unsure of the outcome of the project. Therefore, the model is unsuitable where the team has the task of conducting research to invent a new product or ascertain the suitability of a product in producing certain desired outcomes. Therefore, the application of this model, according to Matthews and McLees (2015) will cause frustrations that in turn will lower the morale of employees. In addition, the application of the model requires a thorough scrutiny of the employee strengths and weaknesses to determine the area that each team member fits appropriately. Therefore, building an effective team with the Goal-Setting theory requires experience and competent skills that pose a danger to the organisation if the leader is new or lacks the expertise. Furthermore, the use of the model may influence negative feelings in the members of a team especially when the deadlines are too close. Setting goals and targets increases the desire to achieve the goals that in turn may influence excessive pressure on members leading to high stress that may demotivate them (Nederveen et al., 2013). Matthews and McLees (2015) express that team members need a reasonably high degree of autonomy to utilise their skills and competencies optimally towards the realisation of the goals. However, setting ultimate goals and targets may deny the members with the chance of working autonomously that may lower their performance. Therefore, the model is unsuitable for the technical or managerial staff working as a team towards a realisation of a certain desired outcome. Goal-Setting Theory is, therefore, suitable for less technical tasks that mostly involve the junior employees where quantity is the most desired outcome.

Opportunities and Limitations of ICT

Information and communication technology (ICT) has currently penetrated in all functions and processes regarding the operation of an organisation. In fact, organisations in the current world consider ICT as an important tool for ensuring efficiency in the management of all functions. In human resource development, ICT is useful in reducing routine human resource transactions as well as the traditional human resource functions and dealing with complicated human resource activities. The human resource department uses ICT for automating the various processes through the introduction of specialised human resource information system (HRIS). HRIS assists in acquiring, storing, manipulating, analysing, retrieving as well as distributing information concerning the functions of the human resource department. ICT provides room for the integration of all human resource functions that increases the efficiency levels. For example, Broderick and Boudreau (2002) mentioned that ICT is important in monitoring the competency levels as well as the performance of employees in the workplace. In addition, Lynch and Black (2001) mentioned that the use of computer has streamlined the task of conducting data analysis and has aided in the management of human resource from the processing of payrolls to the retention of the record. He added that computer hardware and software, together with databases enable an organisation to keep information and maintain records more efficiently. In addition, the retrieval of the data is easier and takes a very short time enabling quick decision-making. Therefore, the ease and the efficient way of acquiring, retrieving and analysing data enhances understanding leading to quicker and better human resource decisions. Currently, organisations expect more from the human resource department leading to the need of improving knowledge and competencies among human resource executives (Collins & Smith 2006). Therefore, ICT is revolutionising human resource practices and assists organisations in acquiring competitiveness and high performance in the market. The notion regarding electronic HRM (e-HRM), according to Lynch and Black (2001), refers to the adoption of information technology (IT) in the execution of HR practices because of the ongoing digital upheaval within the contemporary society. As such, IT is a strong tool for manipulating the performance or conduct of the employee in the organisation to achieve high performance and earn a competitive advantage. Therefore, ICT has transformed human resource management practices from maintenance role into a source of competitive advantage to stimulate business success (Boselie et al., 2001).

However, ICT has some limitations regarding the development of human resource practices; hence, deep consideration is necessary for its adoption. While ICT has increased the significance of human resource, it has caused an additional cost because of the necessity of maintaining ICT systems as well as the acquisition and maintenance of the required equipment such as computers. In many cases, as mentioned by Alam and Noor (2009), for an ICT system to be capable of serving the entire needs of the HR department in an efficient manner, the services of specialists are necessary, which present an additional cost to organisation. To add on that, ICT is prone to errors especially during data input that results in errors in the analysis of data leading to poor human resource decisions that lower the efficiency of business corporations. In this way, ICT is retarding the development of human resource practices, with the case being more serious for smaller organisations that are incapable of maintaining efficient ICT systems. Mohammed and Al-Mutairi (2011) pointed a clear connection between ICT usage and laziness among human resource executives especially in large organisations that implement efficient systems that facilitate human resource functions. In this regard, the ease of analysing data, for example, kills the creativity leading to a retarded development of skills and competencies. Therefore, ICT is sometimes discouraged in the major functions that affect the operations of the organisation critically. There are some cases where the use of technology has facilitated fraud and poor decision-making. For example, some hacking experts interfere with the data recorded leading to poor interpretation that in turn influence poor human resource decisions. For example, an employee may hack the system and manipulate the information regarding his performance that finally causes confusion and inappropriate rewards assignment by the human resource executives. In addition, some organisations have reported cases where employees have manipulated payrolls using ICT. Therefore, while it assists in promoting better human resource practices, ICT also retard development, especially where systems are poor. However, with the implementation of the most appropriate measures, ICT is a tool for improved human resource practices.

Cross-Cultural HRD Practices

Considering the international context, HRD refers to all the processes or functions that address the process of formulating and practicing human resource development practices, policies, and systems at the societal, organisational as well as the global level. It incorporates aspects of how international corporations and governments nurture and develop business operators and the way they establish international human resource development systems (Metcalfe & Rees 2005). Additionally, according to Marquardt and Berger (2003), the human resource development, apart from addressing workplace learning and economic development, it must incorporate cultural, social, spiritual as well as the environmental development of the people. Therefore, they proposed the Global Training Model, which has seven steps that are identical to the similar steps followed for local training approaches hence providing simplicity for HR development across different cultures. The model is suitable for better results in HRD as well as the management of diversity since the process is repetitive, as, upon evaluation, it repeats addressing all the significant needs of the trainee.

Figure 1: Global Training Model

Acculturisation refers to the idea of conveying the programme by incorporating clear objectives, methods, materials as well as content, in different cultures to improve the effectiveness of the HRD training (Marquardt & Berger 2003). The major advantage is that apart from culture, political environment as well as the language, all the other issues involving HRD in the global contexts are similar to those of the local level. Through a consideration of the cultural diversities, the use of the model presents minimal constraints to HRD practices, improves trainee’s experience and assist in the accomplishment of the desired objectives. However, since the trainers encounter numerous obstructions in attempting to understand different cultures, it requires that the HRD expert incorporate the indigenous people in the consideration of the acculturisation aspect for each of the seven steps in the model. The idea is to help in testing the accuracy, the effectiveness as well as the cultural relevance that are major problems in the application of the model in HRD.

Another significant model on cross-cultural HRD is the Hofstede Model that has proved effective in the contemporary environment of business operations. Hofstede (1991) incorporates six major dimensions that are power space, individualism, feminism, avoidance of uncertainty, short-term orientation as well as indulgence. Power space describes the extent that the least powerful individuals are willing to accept inequality in the distribution of authority. Individualism describes the extent the society grants autonomy to its members while feminism describes the degree at which success or competition influences the behaviour of the people. Furthermore, avoidance of uncertainty provides a measure at which the society is willing to control the future while short-term orientation describes how the society response towards the past and the way they deal with present and future challenges. Finally, indulgence measures the extent the society is tolerant to their desires or emotions. The model is suitable since it covers most of the features that describe cultural diversity and shades clear light for the trainee (Kumpikaite 2009). It is more specific on what the transnational manager should focus to understand the diversity that exists in the individuals. In addition, it shades light regarding the means of structuring the leadership style to meet the individual cultural characteristics of the individuals in the organisation. However, according to Lee (2001), it does not provide on the exact procedure that the learner should undertake to achieve his objective. Furthermore, it classifies each cultural characteristic into two major parts while disregarding the other related features regarding the same attribute, hence, may be shallow in describing the culture. It also requires the manager to seek for additional means of exploring the other features. The measure of each characteristic provides an estimate and assigns a general view of the country or population without taking care of the personal features of the individuals hence may cause confusion when the manager evaluates the cultures.

Conclusion

The expectancy theory suggests that high performance occurs when the organisation meets or exceeds the expectations of employees. On the other hand, Goal-Setting Theory proposes that excellent performance in an organization is possible if the corporation defines clear goals as well as targets to each employee. While the expectancy theory focuses on what the organisation should do to the employees, the goal-setting theory focuses on what employees should do for the organisation. Both the two theories are relevant in the contemporary environment, but the expectancy theory is most suitable for managers while the Goal-Setting theory is most suitable for junior employees. Similarly, the Goal-Setting theory is suitable for building teams involved in tasks that require low or medium technical expertise and less suitable for teams involved in complex technical functions. Information and communication technology (ICT) has revolutionised HRD practices through easier manipulation of data leading to improved decision-making, which has made HRM to become a driver for success and competitiveness rather than just existing as service department. However, its use adds costs and discourages the development of skills and competencies when computers perform most of the functions automatically. The Global Training Model (GTM) and Hofstede Model are important in describing cross-cultural HRD and shade light in the manner transnational managers learn how to handle diversities in their organisations. GTM offers clear guidelines on the manner an individual will study the diversity while Hofstede Model points the specific features that describe diversity, hence providing a clear starting point for the transnational manager.