Human Resource Development & Managerial Effectiveness

Introduction:
To be successful in the current rapidly-changing world, we need to maximize the productivity of all of our resources -- physical, financial, information, and human. How are we doing?

Physical resources: We've made major investments in updating our physical equipment, so we can compete with state-of-the-art production tools and facilities. Financial resources: Sure, we're really capital intensive. But that's the nature of our production businesses. The money will follow our ideas, our successes, and our productivity.

Information and knowledge resources: That's one of our success stories. The paper industry is more open and cooperative than other manufacturing industries. Tappi has been right at the center of this. But we have our work cut out for us -- to continue attracting capital in competition with other industries, we need to be as good as they are in accessing the new world of information. It's time to join the Internet. But that's another story for another time.

Human resources: This is the leverage point! Here's where we can make significant differences in our lives, our careers, and our organizations.

Human Resource Development

Human Resource Development:Human Resource Development is a vital area for firms because ideas for innovation, quality and continuous improvement, as well as other critically important inputs needed to compete in the modern, highly competitive business world, come from people and not from machines. The extent to which people will provide suggestions for improvements in all forms will depend, to a large extent, on human resource development strategies within firms. The need to develop human resources on an ongoing basis has not always been so prominent.

Definitions:
Human resource development: Human resource development is a process of developing
and/or unleashing human expertise through organization development and personnel training and development for the purpose of improving performance.

Components of human resource development:

The two major components of HRD are, (1) Training and development (2) Organization development. In addition, HRD has three critical application areas: human resource management, career development, and quality improvement.
(1) Organization

development: Organization development is the process of

systematically implementing organizational change for the purpose of improving performance.

(2) Training

and development: Training and development is the process of

systematically developing expertise in individuals for the purpose of improving performance

HRD values:
HRD practices should be theoretically and ethically sound. HRD calls upon theories from multiple disciplines. Thus, the problem of connecting sound theory and sound practice within a theoretically sound and ethical framework is an important part of HRD theory and practice.

Objectives:
To be able to: Appreciate why human resource development is of strategic importance in the current business world. Realize how human resource development has changed over the time. Understand why some firms have problems in viewing human resources in a strategic manner. Have a basic insight in the key areas.

Importance of Human Resource Development:

Human Resource is the most Important and vital Factor of Economic Development or it can be said that humans are the agents of development. some of the importance of Human Resource or Human Capital are.

1) Country develops if The Human Resource is developed:

To enhance economic development the state constructs roads, buildings bridges, dams, power houses, hospitals, etc. to run these units doctors, engineers, scientist, teachers, are required. So if the state invests in a human resource it pays dividend in response.

2) Increase in Productivity:
The batter education, improved skills, and provision of healthy atmosphere will result in proper and most efficient use of resources (non-natural & natural) which will result in increase in economic production.

3) Eradication of Social And Economic Backwardness:

Human Resource development has an ample effect on the backwardness economy and society. The provision of education will increase literacy which will produce skilled Human Resource. Similarly provision of health facilities will result in healthy Human Resource which will contribute to the national economic development.

4) Entrepreneurship Increase:
Education, clean environment, good health, investment on the human resource, will all have its positive effects. Job opportunities would be created in the country. And even business environment will flourish in the state which creates many job opportunities.

5) Social Revolution:
Because of Human Resource development the socio economic life of the peoples of a country changes drastically. Over all look changes thinking phenomena changes, progressive thoughts are endorsed in to the minds of peoples.

HRD Process:
Our core values rest on respecting individual worth, integrity and beneficence that eventually help us to aim towards building responsible and sustainable partnerships within the organization (among the employees and the management) and outside (with external stakeholders- community, donors, other civil society organization and the government). This value system governs our organizational ethos and is evident in our HR Development process mentioned below:

Recruitment
SRIJAN has an elaborate process of Recruitment and Selection. The procedure includes various psycho and socio-metric tests in order to ascertain the individuals ability to work in a team and with the community. Our professionals are drawn from institutes like Xavier Institute of Social Sciences, Ranchi; Department of Social Work Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi; University of Agriculture Sciences, Bangalore; Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur; G. B. Pant University, Pant Nagar; OUAT, Bhubaneshwar; North East Regional Institute of Science and Technology, Itanagar, etc.

Induction Programme
In view of tremendous growth of the organization and its programmes over the past five years, SRIJAN have evolved its induction processes intermittently. The main foci remain to assimilate the newly acquired professionals into the SRIJAN community and to impart qualities that will help them to accommodate and work with the rural community. Bearing this in mind the HRD cell has devised the induction programme in a manner that helps to the new recruits to adopt the field situations, and helps to integrate them into the organization and prepare them to work in teams

Performance Review
As integrity is one of core values we believe it to be inculcated in our work environment by means of assessing individual performance and giving the opportunity to each professional for self-evaluation as well creating a work ambience based on open learning. Thereby, strengthening the feedback mechanisms within the organization.

Training/Exposure
Review of trainees that are organized after three months, apart from being an evaluation exercise also aims at clarifying their vision and helps them chalk out plan for their knowledge, skills and competencies enhancement in consultation with the core group of the organization. SRIJAN Write Programme is one such plan to build the knowledge base of the professionals writing skills. Another main strategy that helps in assessing the training needs of various teams is the Project Review Meetings (PRMs) that is held on quarterly basis that provides a platform for each team to present the progress of their respective projects. Each team is assisted by the house to plan strategically and discuss interventions that could be taken up. PRMs are also important occasions for learning from each other, identifying expertise available in different teams for the benefit of the organization.

Retreats
Annual Retreats are organized for SRIJAN professionals to encourage introspection and to share their feelings with colleagues. They speak about their personal and professional growth. Besides, retreats are also crucial to foster bonding among SRIJANites across locations.

HRD as different tool :

HRD as a Major Business Process. The standard system model (input > process > output) helps to illustrate the business organization as a system and HRD as a subsystem. Most organization charts with their hierarchies show the chain of command of the organization, not a mission- and goal-driven system. HRD has external customer requirements on the input side and external customer satisfaction as the output. As a major business process, HRD as a Value-Added or Optional Activity. HRD that connects to the internal customer (not the external customer) is not systemically positioned to be a major business process. HRD has the potential of being aligned with the strategic goals and thus adding value to the organization. Without this alignment, however, HRD is viewed as an optional activity that is totally dependent on the integrity of the internal customer it serves, HRDs contribution is directly connected to the external customer and most likely serves internal customers and parallel processes to achieve core performance outputs of the organization.

Managerial Effectiveness

Managerial Effectiveness:Introduction:
Managerial effectiveness is very important for the survival and growth of the organization. It is difficult to define managerial effectiveness in concrete terms. Many perceive it within a particular frame of reference. Decisions about effectiveness are bound to be situational and contingent upon the definition and perspectives of those making the judgment. A review of literature shows that managerial effectiveness has been studied with three perspectives: 1. Traditional/Conventional perspective 2. Organizational level competency based perspective, and 3. An individual level competency based perspective. The traditional model emphasizes the ability to set and achieve goals (Bartol and Martin, 1991) where it is implicitly assumed that managerial effectiveness leads to organizational effectiveness. The organizational competency based approach implies that there is long term future orientation that accounts for both external and internal influences on the organizations. From these analyses a vision is created for the future of the organization, goals are set that will achieve the vision and plans are developed to achieve these strategic goals. Here, the organization tries to create the system and environment with the help of skills and characteristics of managers that lead them to achieve strategic intents. The individual competency based approach to managerial effectiveness focuses upon the individual rather than the organization. The purpose of this approach is to develop transferable (generic) management skills that are applicable across different circumstances both nationally and internationally. But this competency-based perspective on managerial effectiveness has been heavily criticized on the ground of the contingencies and the contexts.

What Is the Meaning of Managerial Effectiveness?

Managerial effectiveness is a leaders ability to achieve desired results. How well he applies his skills and abilities in guiding and directing others determines whether he can meet those results effectively. If he can, his achievements are poised to help the organization gain a competitive edge against rival organizations heading into the future. Effectiveness is defined as the measure of total output produced.

Effectiveness = Output produced

Managerial effectiveness is a key success factor for proactive organizations.

The effectiveness of the managers is measured in the effectiveness of the organization in achieving the organizational goals.

The Skills of an Effective Manager:

A manager has a combination of technical, people and conceptual skills that can make him an effective leader, according to theoretical models of leadership. Technical skills include specialized training, skilled performance of specific tasks, expertise in a specific field or industry and the ability to apply specialized knowledge to tasks and objectives. People skills include the ability to work well with others, motivate workers, resolve conflicts, delegate roles and communicate objectives clearly. Conceptual skills are broader and more self-actualized. They include the ability to see the organization in the context of its industry, the ability to understand how each part of the

organization functions as a whole, the ability to visualize a future course of action based on current organizational and industry trends, the ability to analyze and diagnose complex situations and the ability to understand the interrelationships at work in the organization.

Achieving Results:
Senior management is responsible for identifying the core competencies of the organization and making sure those competencies are complemented by its managers and its overall workforce. It is up to senior management to strategically place a manager in the department where her skills and competencies will reflect the current and future needs of the organization in order to effectively achieve results that benefit the organization in the short- and long-run.

A Competitive Edge:
In the long run, managerial effectiveness has the potential of creating efficiencies that create a sustainable competitive advantage against rival organizations and increase opportunities for future enterprise. It also fosters individual growth in the manager and her followers and, over time, generates shareholder value for the organization.

Gauging Managerial Effectiveness:

Managerial effectiveness is gauged by the results a leader achieves. Results are generally believed to be influenced by the organizations established culture. A good leader must adapt to the organizations culture and make sure her skills are aligned with organizational goals in order to achieve positive results.

An Example of Managerial Effectiveness:

The results of a marketing project spearheaded by a finance manager, for example, would not be as strong as the results achieved by a marketing manager who is well-versed in market strategy and research. Choices such as these significantly affect an organization's overall performance.

Managerial Effectiveness Includes:

In the management, the ultimate measure of management's performance is the metric of management effectiveness which includes:

Conflict management, or how well management is able to utilize confrontation and collaboration skills; management's ability to be flexible and appeal to common interests. Consideration, or how well managers seek to understand and appreciate others' values; and not merely as a means to a business goal. Delegation, or how well management gives assignments and communicates instructions to members of the organization Execution, or how well management's plans are carried out by members of the organization Leadership, or how effectively management communicates and translates the vision and strategy of the organization to the members Motivation, how management attempts to understand the needs of others and inspires them to perform. Motivation focuses on how performance is rewarded rather than how failure is punished.

Return on investment, or how well management utilizes the resources (financial, physical, and human) of the organization to bring an acceptable return to shareholders

Benefit of Managerial Effectiveness:

Increase productivity Reduce pressure level at work place Creating Winning Organization Importance of time and how to set priorities Importance of team work in the organization Help you to be more effective at workplace and personal life. Learn how to use power of your brain Improve interpersonal communication and relationship Developing commitment towards organization

Difference between the role of less effective manager and effective manager:
Less Effective Manager :
Thinks of self as manager or boss Follows chain of command

 Works within a set organizational structure

Makes most decisions alone

Hoards information Tries to master one major discipline Demands long hours

Effective Manager :
Thinks of self as sponsor, team leader, or internal consultant Deals with anyone necessary to get job done Changes organizational structure in response to market change Invites others to join in decision making Shares information Tries to master broad array of disciplines Demands results

Assessing a managers effectiveness:

The strength of motivation & the morale of staff The success of their training & development The creation of an organisational environment in which staff work willingly & effectively Meeting important deadlines Accuracy of work Level of complaints

 Adherence to quality standards Productivity Adhering to budgets set

Tips for improving managerial effectiveness:

Leaders usually, but not always, exercise authority by making legitimate requests. In response, staff might commit, comply, or resist. Athletic trainers can use many methods to decrease the likelihood of resistance and increase the possibility of commitment (Yukl 1981). When making requests of subordinates, athletic trainers should take the following positive steps to ensure commitment.

Be courteous and respectful:

Avoid emphasizing differences in status, intelligence, financial responsibility, and other factors related to rank. If Sharon was having trouble with one of her employees, she would be unlikely to gain that employees commitment by saying Im the boss. You work for me. Do it or else. The employee might comply, but that would be the best Sharon could hope for.

Radiate confidence:
If the leader communicates doubt through verbal or nonverbal cues, the staff is unlikely to comply with enthusiasm. The athletic trainers who came to Sharon for redress of their medical benefits complaint would probably feel better about the situation if Sharon approached the issue with confidence, saying, Dont worry. Ill get this mess straightened out.

Use simple language:

When instructions must necessarily be complicated, check to be sure that subordinates understand them. If Sharon is communicating a complex treatment plan to a new staff member, she would do well to use the simplest language possible, ask the staff member to restate the instructions, and check later to make sure that the staff member is carrying out the instructions. Inexperienced leaders often make the mistake of using excessively technical terminology as a way of demonstrating their position power.

Make reasonable requests:

Test requests for legitimacy by consulting with coworkers above you or at the same level in the organization. Referring to formally approved policies, rules, and negotiated agreements can help legitimize requests. Sharon might have strengthened her position with her partners in the opening case if she had taken the time to get some advice on the reasonableness of her position. If she could have referred to formal company documents, such as the employee handbook, she might have been able to make a stronger case.

Provide rationale:
Providing reasons for your request will help reduce the perceived status gap between you and your staff. If Sharon circulates a memo to all clinic staff that informs them that employee parking fees are about to double, she had better explain the reasons for the price increase. If she doesnt, the employees are free to attribute any false motive they can think of to account for the increase. If she does explain the increase, the employees still wont like it, but they have a better chance of understanding it and complying.

Use the chain of command:

Following established lines of communication decreases the possibility of message distortion. Make requests in writing whenever possible. If one of the clinics employees bypasses her supervisor and takes her concern directly to Sharon, all three parties will be in a difficult position. Sharon and the employee now have information that the supervisor

doesnt have. This lack of information will certainly lead to trouble at some point in the future.

Use authority regularly:

If you make legitimate requests regularly, your staff will be less likely to resist. If Sharon continuously backs away from issues that require her to make decisions based on her authority as a partner in the company, her employees will grow accustomed to that mode of decision making. When the day comes that Sharon does exercise her authority, the employees are likely to resent her for doing so.

Exercise authority to confirm task accomplishment:

If you do not demand compliance for legitimate requests, future noncompliance is more likely. If Sharon asks one of her employees to do something, the employee doesnt do it, and Sharon doesnt take any action, all employees will soon figure out that Sharon is a pushover and a weak leader.

Be open-minded:
Staff members who consider their leader a heartless automaton with no concern for their ideas or feelings are unlikely to respond to requests with enthusiasm. If Sharon listens to her employees concerns with genuine interest and acts on those concerns whenever possible, she is much more likely to gain the trust and respect of those employees.

Case Study:
Description of the Training Program:
The present study was focused on a HRD program in the Finnish paper industry in 1995-1996. Mets? -Serla Corporation invested approximately USD 500 million into the world's biggest fine paper mill. At that time Mets? -Serla was the fifth biggest pulp and paper producer in Europe. It has production units all around the European continent and its products are sold in Asia, South America, and North America, besides Europe. Within the technical paper mill construction project there was a HRD program. The new technology required modern and up-to-date vocational qualifications from the personnel. Over 150 workers were hired to the new fine paper mill through careful recruitment procedures. The program lasted 8 months including classroom courses, practical training periods, excursions, simulations, and some organized leisure time activities, too. One third of the trainees were without previous work experience in the paper industry. This made training one of the key factors in terms of the successful start-up of the new paper mill. (Nurmi, 1998.) The HRD program was one of the biggest ever conducted in the Finnish private sector with its USD 10 million budget. In addition to its size, there were other innovative aspects, too. These innovations are discussed and described in the results section of the present paper. The HRD program was conducted simultaneously with the technical paper mill construction project. The final goal of both projects was the successful start-up of the new paper mill in August 1996 (Figure 2). There were also other objectives set for HRD which were related to the start-up goal. In addition to development of the workers the program included management training and training of the maintenance personnel. This study focused on the operators, i.e. workers of the new paper production line (Nurmi, 1998).

Figure: The chronological description of Mets? -Serlas paper mill investment including the training program

Results:
Context Innovations:
The paper mill, the future work environment of the trainees, was completely new. There were not existing hierarchies or cultural barriers. Thus, the ground for the development activities was thought to be fertile and flexible. Although, there were two older production units within the same geographical location from which many beliefs and habits have possibly transferred to the personnel of the new factory. As a matter of course, there were many positive cultural nuances, besides the factors resisting the change and supporting the existence of the old systems that may have transferred from the older units to the new paper mill. The recruitment process of the personnel was innovative for this field of industry. Several newspaper advertisements impacted approximately 5000 applicants to send their resumes to Mets? Serla. It is not usual in the heavy industry that a high recruitment criterion in terms of education is required. In this program, the education requirement was either a matriculation or vocational examination, but the latter was not necessary from the paper production. The area of the vocational education was not a core recruitment criterion, because the trainees received also the formal vocational education in the HRD program. Two interview rounds, aptitude and personality tests were applied in the recruitment process. The applied recruitment approach may seem a normal procedure, but in the paper industry it has not been the most common case. However, more attention during the recent years has been paid towards the HR and HRD function in the forest industry, as well. Two interesting details were included in the recruitment: There was an intention to hire young persons, possibly novices in the industry. And the other intention was to hire female workers more than factories normally do. The personnel was quite young and inexperienced compared to the traditional population. There were also more women than normally, even though the majority of the operators were still men. The third context innovation was the strong support by the top management of the organization. It was not just empty phrases for the external image purposes. The management took part in the discussions during the instructional planning process, showed interest toward implementation of the program, and some managers kept lectures in the training courses, too.

Input Innovations:
One of the most meaningful innovations in this area was the foundation of the HRD expert team. Two engineers and two adult educators were members of this team. Engineers have been planning and implementing industrial training programs traditionally. In the present case more emphasis was given on the instructional design, soft skills training, and evaluation. Therefore, there was a need to have educators, in addition to the technical experts. Modern paper mill projects include always some training or HRD activities. Their length varies from few days to a couple of weeks. The HRD program of Mets? -Serla Corporation lasted 8 months as a full-day type of activity. The operators and other workers of the new fine paper mill were hired to attend the vocational education. During the program, they did not have any production responsibility, even though the program included practical training, too.

Process Innovations:
The process innovations of the program could be divided in two sections: the innovations related to the instructional design, i.e. the planning process of the target program, and the innovations related to the applied evaluation procedures. The traditional need analysis was not implemented in order to formulate the content of HRD program, because the majority of the trainees begun their permanent employment, when the HRD activities started. Thus, they were not available for the need analysis earlier. Several expert teams, including operators, maintenance personnel, supervisors, and production engineers, were founded from the older paper production units to determine the learning objectives for each process area. This approach could be named the content based need analysis, referring the instructional design based on the experts' view about the crucial competence areas for operators and other personnel in the different parts of the production process. Also the trainers, who were mainly machinery designers and start-up experts from different machinery deliverers, were involved in the planning of the educational program. They worked in the close cooperation with the HRD team. The evaluation of the program was double-edged. On the one hand, its purpose was to revise the on-going activities to better support the vocational development of the operators, i.e. formative

evaluation. On the other hand, the evaluation focused on defining the final merit of the program, i.e. summative evaluation. There were no concrete possibilities to conduct ROI or CBA calculations, because the production unit was completely new, and there were no empirical experiences about the actual production capacity of this type of a paper mill. Of course, some comparisons were made with the start-up curves of the competitors and other mills of Mets? -Serla. (Nurmi, 1999). The evaluation was implemented by the mixed-method approach that included several different phases from the traditional student assessments to the simulations of the automation systems, and from the interviews of different stakeholders to the learning journals kept by the trainees. (Nurmi, 1999).

Product Innovations:
The goals of the HRD program, set by the organization's top management and the leaders of the paper mill construction project, were challenging. They were related to the production quantity and quality, team building and the high-level of the conceptual mastery of the production process (Lepp? nen, 1993), i.e. the knowledge of the workers concerning the entire production line. It is not innovative that the goals were accomplished, because many programs have been able to reach their goals. There were at least two reasons making the goal accomplishment innovative in the present case. The production-related goals were demanding; the new paper mill was the world's biggest fine paper production unit at the time of its construction. And its major products were innovative, the latest inventions of the company's R&D department in the cooperation with the machinery deliverers. Two latter goals (team building and the conceptual mastery) were innovative, because they contained behavioral dimensions. And it is not a tradition in the paper industry to set this kind of goals. More frequently the goals, as well as investments are allocated on the machinery and iron rather than human resources, their well being, or qualifications. The team building in the process industry, especially in the paper production, has not been very successful in Finland. Cultural barriers, fragmented job descriptions, and the lack of vocational qualifications have been some of the factors resisting the progress. In the HRD program of Mets? -Serla, also the team building was implemented and the teams have been functioning since the mill start-up.

The second product innovation was the high number of the operators pursuing the vocational examination from the paper production. Traditionally, the workers of the paper mills do not have the formal vocational qualifications of their occupation. Over 80% of the trainees in the present case were able to finish their degree which is controlled and admitted by the Finnish National Board of Education (Finnish National Board of Education, 1995).

Conclusions and Suggestions:

There are some occupations, such as the one of paper machine operator's which cannot be studied in the classrooms of the vocational institutes. The machines and production lines are so large and expensive, and also the technique changes so rapidly that the educational institutes do not have chances to up-to-date their teachers' vocational qualifications and their instructional technology to meet the challenges of the industry. The biggest forest corporations have founded their own vocational institutes, where they are able to use their company's production units as practical training locations, and at the same time they can select their future work force, and the students can evaluate, whether they are willing to work for the certain company at the beginning of their careers. The other option to solve the puzzle between the insufficient resources of the public education and the qualification needs of the modern technology is to develop the cooperation between the public vocational institutes and the industrial companies. The former can offer the fundamental knowledge for the students, and the latter offers the practical training periods. However, the role of the teacher in planning and facilitating the practical periods is also crucial. The present case was one example, how the enterprise itself can arrange educational activities to secure its personnel's vocational capabilities.

The tendency to pay more attention to the recruitment of the personnel is not only a positive progression. Because the employers may be greed rather than rational, i.e. they are more likely to hire the best applicants instead the best fitting for the particular position. This causes motivational

and organizational troubles in the future, if the work environments are not adjustable to fulfill the learning and development needs of the highly competent personnel. It is a good direction in this industry field that more resources are invested for the HR and HRD programs. Although, the monetary resources do not make a successful program, if there are not sufficient expertise involved. In the present case, it was not an easy-going process to build up a close cooperation between the technical and educational professionals. Finally, it was fertile and educative experience, in addition that the program implementation was a success, at least for certain extent. The HRD team was formulated only for this particular development case. Some activities have taken place since the program, but the externally organized HRD function has a tendency to be less need-oriented and broad-focused than are the internal departments. On the other hand, if there is a lack of expertise in the internal HRD or HR department, they are just hiring external consultants, and their functions are based on the existing services rather than internal needs of the personnel. Finally, the vocational education offered in the present case gave the trainees a formal certification about their skills and knowledge. Their examination is valid in the other Finnish corporations, but in many other European countries, as well. Young and educated workers are more likely to switch their employers several times during their career than their parents and middle-aged peers in the industry.

Bibliography:-

http://www.shvoong.com/businessmanagement/human-resources/1754982-conceptshuman-resource-development/#ixzz1cum5vIHp

http://www.scribd.com/doc/13211761/Hrd-CaseStudy