Human Resource Development Is vital to organizations as It helps to Improve business performance through the development of workforce, and directing and improving abilities and skills through activities planned to improve organizational learning. There are numerous definitions of Human Resource Development (Swanson & Hilton, 2009) however I prefer the definition posited by Swanson (1995) as stated in Swanson & Hilton (2009) because among other things (as discussed below) this resonates very well with me. Moreover, Swanson Is one of the prolific scholars and contributors In the field of Human Resource and Organizational Development.
According to Swanson & Hilton (2009), “Human Resource Development (HARD) is a process of developing and unleashing expertise for the purpose of improving individual, team, work process, and organizational system performance” (p. 4) I believe this “expertise” can be generated through training and development which is one of the core functions of Human Resource Development. The focal point of human resource development Is on developing the most superior workforce so that the organization and employees can accomplish their work goals and effective services to clients or customers and stakeholders.
As I stated above Swanson & Hilton (2009) definition of HARD is the most preferable, mainly because of its emphasizes on key elements in the field and practice of HARD such as developing “expertise” at the individual level, group/team level and at the organizational level towards achieving the goal of effective organizational performance. This definition also amplifies the mutuality and Importance as well as the Interconnectivity and or Interdependence of these forces.
Furthermore, organizations have many opportunities for human resources or employee development, both within and outside of the workplace. All activities in the HARD are intended to improve people’s abilities to achieve definite objectives and goals. Human Resource Development also includes the integrated use of opportunities such as career development, employee training, performance management and development, mentoring, coaching, succession planning, and organization development In order to Improve the Individual, the team. And the organization as a whole.
In today’s continuously changing financial and technological environment, in order to perform duties and make meaningful contribution to the success of the organizational goals, employees must acquire relevant knowledge and skills through continuous learning and training (Com, 2009). Training and development can affect a successful outcome; the organization grows depending on the performance of the employees, if employees do not have the requisite training, they remain with only the skills they know of and the organization may become stagnant and uncompetitive (Com, 2009).
This stagnant position is counter productive and self-destructive in the current competitive and constantly evolving global economy where effective talent management are key to not only organizational performance and development but also survival. Moreover, an organization with well trained employees who are to this assertion is the fact that people are organizational human capital and therefore must be utilized and maintained in very good condition and hence to the benefit of the organization. Employee development and training is a significant element of human resources development.
According to Swanson & Hilton (2009), “Training and development (T&D) is defined as a process of systematically developing work-related knowledge and expertise for the purpose of improving performance” (p. 29). The ultimate goal of the training and development process is characterized as the formation of the learning organization, continuously reviewing its errors and success and changing its activities accordingly. With this declared, I believe all the departments in an organization need to be linked to each other as well as to the training and development programs.
This will foster mutual “alignment” with the overall organization goal. Human resources development has its importance in helping to develop and grow a successful organization. Training and development can impact an organization either positively or negatively. Without proper training and development, an organization cannot grow successfully. Training and development not only helps improve the initial skills that employee’s bring at the beginning of employment but may also bring in new skills and enhance their performance.
Moreover, it increases job knowledge and expands employees’ perspective. For instance, when an employee enters an organization, he may be lacking some important skill sets such as safety and ethical skills; such skills can be introduced by taking training courses in the organization. The employee will be trained to know the organization’s policies and earn unethical situations an employee may face. This helps the organization develop their competitiveness and grow successfully.
The employee is not the only one who benefits from training and development, the client benefits as well. When clients see a positive performance and change in the organization, they are more drawn to that organization. On the other hand, if there is lack of training and development initiatives and or programs, employees may face many challenges in the course of performing their duties and responsibilities and may not know how to handle certain issues when they crop up. With that said, the organization may fail.
Organizational development is a critical part of Human Resource Development and thus organizational performance, to earning competitive advantage as well as to the survival of the organization. It is through organization development that management supports their employees in all aspects of their Job, and promotes effective performance which leads to success. According to Swanson & Hilton (2009), “Organization Development (DO) has the capabilities of unleashing human expertise, resulting in improvements at the organization, work process, team, and individual evils” (p. 88). It is based on the understanding of behavioral sciences and is related to how people and organizations operate and how they can be made to perform better through effective use of human and social processes. Organization development gives opportunities for people to function as human beings rather than resources and provides opportunities for each member of the organization to develop to their full potential.
It also strives to make the organization more effective Organizational development allows plans to be formed, goals to be established, and how to reach the goals of the organization. The major goal of an organization is to direct the employees in understanding the organization’s vision and to make sure the employees’ goals are the same goals as the organization. The organizational development improves the organization’s capability in carrying out its internal and external performance and relationships.
It helps employees acquire the knowledge to promote issues such as client’s satisfaction, group processes, effective communication, and effective decision making, improved ability to cope with all organizational problems, high levels of trust, appropriate leadership, and enhanced kills in handling destructive conflict as well as working well with others and in groups (Sardinia & Sahara, 2011). My Philosophy and Core HARD Beliefs My philosophy of HARD is that the long-term, sustainable, competitive, and valuable resource that an organization can have is its employees.
An organization is driven by employees who interact for a common goal and are the ones who make up the organization. Employees can reveal whether an organization reverts, grows or stays exactly where it has been. They are responsible for the operations in the organization, so the success of an organization will always depend greatly on employees and their input and output. They are therefore the human capital of that organization which is a vital part and parcel or valuable asset to any organization.
Furthermore, when training and or development programs are organized, it contribute to the development and performance of the individual employee which is which he/she transfers to the performance of their work for that organization. Also, following the training and development program, an evaluation is usually conducted to determine the effectiveness of the program in comparison with the need, which has been acknowledged. This can tell us that organization development go behind the development of employees who constitute the organization.
This is to say that, an organization cannot turn out to be effective and efficient until the employees acquire and apply the needed skills and knowledge. Therefore, for organizations to succeed, training and re-training of all employees in way of conferences, seminars, and workshops should be strongly practiced and made mandatory. I will therefore conclude that Human Resource Development includes a series of integrated and purposeful activities and programs to improve organizational human capacity in order to attain desired goals including the enhancement of performance and development.
