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Human Resource Development:

Concept and Practices in Nepal

Dr Dinesh Pant
Human Resource (HR)
HR is a typical resource - both critical and important.

Criticality:
 Organic (having life) in nature

 Dynamic (undergoing changes) in competency


(cognitive, emotional, spiritual, etc.)
 Difficult to be stored.

Importance:
 Central of all other types of resources,

 Competitive advantage in the present world

 Potential of conversion into human capital (asset).


HRD from different perspectives
 HRD from national perspectives – people as
resource
(In Nepal’s development plan, HRD linked
with population management + labor and
employment policy)

 HRD from organizational perspective –


organizational members (employees) as
human resource
Nepal’s Population Features
 Population has reached 27.5 million in 2009
with growth rate of 2.25% and life expectancy of
64 yrs.
 Young population - median age of 20 years
 People of 15-29 age-group constitutes 27% of
the population (6.1 million) - 29% in 2011.
 83 % of youth are living in the rural areas
 The literacy rate of youth is 70%.
 The youth unemployment rate is some 12%.
Issues in HRD at national level
 Lagging behind to promote role of youths and
engage them in development by designing
and executing suitable educational policies
and creating employment and developing
their professionalism
 Lagging behind in utilizing skills and expertise
of senior citizen in national development
policies
Development Paradigm and Coverage

Development paradigm across the world is shifting


towards youth-focused and youth-led
development - Nepal has a long way to go

Nepal needs to pursue a strategic approach to


development of human resources, especially for
their new generation.
Policy Issues on Youth Development
 Failures in implementation of youth policies in recognizing areas of
youth development (upliftment of their roles, productivity, reforms in
educational system, employment creation, professionalism).
 Unemployment of youth due to incompatibility between the market
demands for manpower and edu. opportunities.
 Disintegration of youth programs being undertaken; poor institutional
mechanisms for programs at local levels
 Inadequacy of effective programs for skill development and
employment promotion; minimal access to eco. services
 Inability in making the youth-engaged foreign employment
manageable and safe, with management of remittance.
 Absence of coordination among concerned agencies for introducing
policies and undertaking programs (+training)
 Delays in adjustment of cantonment-based and conflict-affected
youths in various sectors by offering opportunities
 No coordination of youth development programs of government,
political parties, donors, NGOs and others
Youth Policy in National Planning Process
Long-term Vision:
“Making youth major partner in national development process by
emphasizing their roles in socio-economic and cultural development
and peace-building”

Strategies:
 Undertake programs for economic, social, physiological and
intellectual development and empowerment of the youths -all ethnic
groups, communities, groups, sexes and regions
 Increase youth-targeted services, facilities and employment
opportunities by developing their social and economic
entrepreneurship
 Mainstream youth-related issues at sectoral programs for as
envisaged in the National Youth Policy 2009.
 Mobilize resources from local levels for youth related-development
programs.
HRD Framework for New Generation - Areas
Public services:
 Having policies for attracting youth to public employment
 Offering dev. opportunities for improved performance
 Encouraging older public servants to shift career to other areas to
create the space for youth.
Agriculture:
 Developing youth engaged in this sector through vocational education
and training
 Introducing new technology and farming system
 Commercializing agriculture practices through cooperatives
 Attracting the young agr technicians for practicing know-how

Industry,Trade and Service Business:


 Attracting youth by creating opportunities to develop skills and
entrepreneurship
 Offering youth partnership programs for undertaking new enterprises
(with a package of favorable policies and services).
Contd… HRD Framework ….. Areas
Literature, sports, arts and music:
 Govt creating institutional base for attracting young talents to promote
literature, sports, arts and music.
 Encouraging youth to design / launch partnership programs
 Promoting commercialization of artistic talents and offering services to
develop talents
 Recognizing and honoring the youth talents and supporting their
further development.

Social services:
 Encouraging youth to engage in community services as part of
education / training courses or any formal employment.
 Extending and replicating NDVS Program in all 75 districts
 Mobilizing collective efforts of civil society organizations (Red Cross,
Lions, Jaycees, Rotary, Rotaract) to attract and engage youth in
social service and develop service attitides
HRD in national plan (highlights)
Policies:
 Making pop mgmt and HRD synergistic through multi-sectoral
partnership and coordination (health, education, industry, trade,
agriculture, migration, etc.)
 Delivering services related to pop mgmt and HRD near doorsteps
through one-window system
Strategies:
 Preparing framework of pop mgmt and HRD by making sector-
wise projection of human resource based on census 2011
 Encouraging / coordinating institutions engaged in rural
employment-oriented skill development and HRD
 Strengthening agencies of all sectors engaged in HRD
 Launching necessary programs for checking briandrain
 Creating environment for personality development of every
citizen based on his interest
Expected output:
HRD through increased access of target groups to social, economic
services and facilities
HRD as part of Human Resource Mgmt
HRM practices in Nepal cover the following:
 Acquisition: Recruitment, selection, placement
 Development: education, training, promotion,
transfers, etc
 Utilization: Financial motivation (e.g. fixed
salary and allowances and periodic increases)
and differential reward and punishment
Disposition: compulsory/ voluntary retirements;
down sizing, maintaining relations with past
employees, distribution of retirement benefits
Some HRM practices also differ in focus and
volume according to the types of organizations
HRD Practices in Nepalese Orgs.
Public sector:
 GOs not having their own HRD plan at org level - some having HRD
plans at macro levels (dev plan / sectoral plan)
 Limited to creating / determining positions to be filled up through
recruitments and promotions, developing employees as opportunity
emerges, etc.
 HRD practices in SoEs are influenced by those of govt

Private sector:
 Each org having own HRD practices - vary in org sizes - mostly based
on situational needs from short-term perspective – HRD lacking
scientific methods in small orgs.
 Only a few large enterprises like Surya Nepal and Dabor tend to have
modern HRD practices
Autonomous social organizations (also NGOs / INGOs):
 As provisioned in rules and by-rules - vary across org. sizes.
 Few large orgs score high in adopting modern HRD practices
 INGOs following the standard practices of HQs
Aspects of HRM Practices in Nepal:
HRM practices in Nepal cover the following:
 Acquisition: Recruitment, selection, placement
 Development: education, training, promotion,
transfers, etc
 Utilization: Financial motivation (e.g. fixed
salary and allowances and periodic increases)
and differential reward and punishment
Disposition: compulsory/ voluntary retirements;
down sizing, maintaining relations with past
employees, distribution of retirement benefits
Some HRM practices also differ in focus and
volume according to the types of organizations
Human Resource Management in different sectors
Human Resources Management (HRM) practices in
Nepal differ according to the nature of organizations:
 Government organizations : They have their uniform
HRM practices governed by civil service rules.
 Public enterprises (state-owned business orgs.):
In most cases, they have uniform HRM practices
influenced by those of government, but also have
their own practices as per nature of functions.
 Private business organizations: In most of cases,
each has its own HRM practices. Some practices are
commonly governed by the laws of the country such
as Labour Act and Regulations and Trade Union Act.
 Autonomous social organizations (also NGOs): They
have practices as provisioned in their own rules and
by-rules.
HRD in organization: Conceptualization
 HRD means development of human competencies
required by job
 Competencies in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes
(+ behaviors)
 Competencies can be developed though various
intervention like:
- Orientation
- Training / education
- Transfer
- Promotion
- Motivation schemes (incentives / reward for performance)
- Career path planning
-Promotion of work culture
- Setting and practicing ethics
Process of HRD and Utilization
HRM functions or processes relating to HR
development and utilization go together:
a) Identification of HRD needs
b) Formulation of HRD strategy / plan /
programs relating to:
Orientation, socialization, training, management development,
employees’ career development, performance appraisal,
promotion and transfer, motivation, etc.
c) Implementation of HRD plans and programs:
Undertaking socialization programs, training / MD programs,
performance evaluation, promotion / transfer of employees
d) Evaluation of HRD plans and programs
Employee Orientation
It is an activity or process that provides
employees with the basic background
information about organization (employer)
after selection or placement on the job.

Types of Orientation:
 Brief – informal
 Lengthy – formal

Phases:
 Basic (by training dept, external trainer, etc.
normally in a group basis)
 Job-oriented – by respective supervisor
Indicators of Successful Orientation
The new employee:
 feels welcome

 understands the organization (policies,


norms, programs, etc)
 Knows job(s) to be done

 Finds expected behavior

 Begins socialization

Orientation is only a part of organizational


socialization, which may take various forms
Performance Appraisal is the key for HRD
Performance appraisal provides necessary data
and information for all kinds of HRD-related
decisions:

 Whom to train?
 Whom to transfer?
 Whom to promote to higher position?
 Whom to groom for leadership positions?
 Whom to place on leadership position?
 How to create positive work culture, etc.?
HRD through Training: What is Training?

 Training is a learning experience that seeks a


relatively permanent change in an
individual’s ability to perform the related-job.
 Training is an activity which deliberately
attempts to improve a person’s knowledge
and skills at a task
 Training is a means to bring about some
attitudinal change on the part of trainees
 Training is a systematic process of
creating learning environment
How can we make training
effective?

 Undertaking training as a process

 Adopting a learning-focused training


strategy
Training process
Phases:

1) Pre-training (Planning / Designing)


2) Training (Implementation)
3) Post-training (Application + Evaluation)
Actors:
 Training institutions / centre / trainers
 Work organization / unit / employer
 Trainees
I) Pre-training phase
(Actors: training institution, work org.)
1) Identification of training needs
1) Design of training program
- Setting training objectives
- Designing curriculum
- Choosing appropriate training methods
- Selecting trainers
- Designing trainee selection criteria
- Planning and preparing training materials
- Ensuring availability of physical facilities
3) Selection of trainees as per set criteria
II) Training phase
(Actors: training institution and trainees)

4) Implementation of training course or


program

5) Ensuring active participation in


training sessions

6) Facilitating and maintaining learning


environment
III) Post-training phase
(Actors: trainees, work organisation and
training institution)

7) Placement of trainees on the jobs for


which they are trained
8) Providing support to the trained staff for
utilisation of training on their jobs
9) Follow up and evaluation of usefulness
of training: (a) reaction evaluation (b)
outcome evaluation
i) On-the-job training methods:

 Apprentice training,
 Internship training,
 Job instruction training

Advantages: Fast learning, high motivation


of trainees, low cost, maximum
transferability, multi-skilling

Disadvantages: Low productivity during


training, high scraps and reject rates
(ii) Off-the-job training methods
 Lecture
 Simulation exercises
 Experiential exercises: learning-by-doing
exercise, role play
 Programmed instructions: self-learning
manuals, video games, films, audio cassettes,
etc
Advantages: low cost, time saving, wide coverage
of subjects, trainer development, useful contact
between trainers and trainees
Disadvantages: minimum transferability, low
motivation of trainees, lukewarm involvement of
trainees, etc.
(iii) Other Methods:
 Audio-visual and distance learning: Tele-
training, computer games, CD room
observing, etc.

 Training for special purposes: language


proficiency, value cultivation or
organisational socialisation
HRD through Management Development (MD):

While training is meant mainly for development of


employees or operatives, MD is meant mainly for
managers. MD is defined in many ways:
 MD is more future –oriented and more concerned
with education for assisting a person to became a
better performer.
 MD is a systematic process of improving managerial
performance or effectiveness by imparting
knowledge, increasing skills and changing attitudes
 MD is a preparation of management team to handle
future responsibilities.
Objectives of MD (Importance/Benefits)
 Increase managerial capabilities to face challenges
with broader future outlook;
 Enhance managerial performance through increased
conceptual, human and technical skills;
 Facilitate environmental adaptation through
managers’ pro-actions and responses to changing
forces;
 Foster team work through improved managerial
communication;
 Facilitate managerial succession to senior positions
from within;
 Improve job satisfaction of managers and their
productivity.
Process of Management Development:

 Reviewing the organization’s objectives,


strategies, programs
 Appraising current human resources
(Analysing HRI)
 Ascertaining required development
activities for fulfilling future management
needs
 Determining individual development
needs: knowledge enhancement, skill
development and attitudinal changes
Methods of Management Development
(a) On –the –job Methods:
 Coaching: guiding managers by their immediate
supervisors
 Understudy: asking managers to hold certain
positions as substitutes of existing managers
 Job rotation: shifting managers from one job to
another
 Planned work assignments: providing specific
experience
 Internship: placing managers in specific work
organization /unit to combine classroom
knowledge with practical experiences.
Methods of MD …….contd.
(b) Off- the –job methods:
 Lecture / seminar:
 Simulation exercises: duplication of real- work
situation in the laboratory or class room: case
studies, role play, decision games
 Behavior modelling: combining role-play with
modelling: model study, role playing, skill transfer
 Sensitivity training: changing behaviour through
group interaction in an environment- creating
awareness
 Transactional analysis: analysing ego states of
trainees and identifying compatible and incompatible
behaviours
Provisions for HRD in Public Service

 Training / education opportunities


 Transfer
 Promotion
 Occasional financial incentives (salary
increment)
Problems /Issues of HRM in Nepal
 No clear-cut manpower policies that identify the manpower needs,
sources and strategies for recruitment, development, utilization
and retirement.
 Lack of clear-cut HRM strategy / HRD plan linked with OD strategy.
 No consideration of HRM as an important part of management –
limited to regulatory functions of appointment, transfer, promotion
and staff recording.
 HRM constitutes only a small section or division of total
organization set-up.
 No focus on management of employees as scare resources.
 HRM not carried out as a function of business-like organization;
not linking HRM cost with productivity.
 Inadequate job-related knowledge and skills and motivation on the
part of employees - e employment as a part job.
 Irregularities in HRM practices, e.g., nepotism and favouritism in
selection, training and benefits – exploitation of honest and
innocent employees.
 Senior administrators not appointed as per their professional
competence – the appointments are based on political / personal
relations.
 Poor relationships between management and employees.
Issues of PA in Nepal
 Unclear goals
 Limited purpose (promotion-oriented)
 Informal and subjective criteria
 Lack of transparency in evaluation
 Current performance-oriented
 Appraisal not as motivational tools
 Poor infrastructures (job description, goal setting, etc.)
 Lack of performance-based reward /punishment
 Unfavourable organizational culture
 Ritual practice
Common HRM Challenges in Nepal
 Competition for acquiring competent manpower
 Practicing differential HRM policies with workforce diversity
 Facing globalization of work relationships
 Rightsizing staff and redefining work relationships in line with the
use of modern information technology
 Creating more human services and responses in line with
increasing shifts in work nature (service delivery)
 Working with multiple actors having different HR policies due to
emphasis on partnership approach
 Ensuring employee commitment/ loyalty, with emergence and
dominance of competent knowledge workers
 Developing and utilizing competent manpower to meet the
needs of fast-changing situational needs
 Emergence of multiple stakeholders in terms of demands and
criticality for effective delivery of services
Strategic choices for HRM
a) Developing leadership at different levels of
organization, that facilitates not only smooth operation
but also strategic development of business

b) Developing a work culture that is performance or


productivity-oriented (i.e., goal-oriented, employee-
centered, quality-obsessed, innovation-inclined, client-
committed, inclusion-oriented and ethics-guided); and

c) Designing or re-designing systems and processes that


treat staff as scare human resources and encourage
them to posses the type of attitudes, values and
beliefs that are required to be efficient, effective and
ethical
Desired focus of leadership dev.
Development of leaders with multiple competencies
a) High in strategic orientation:
- ability to understand the significance of situation
- ability to make required decisions / actions

b) High in emotional, moral, spiritual intelligence:


Emotional intelligence is one's mental capacity in: knowing one's
emotions (self-awareness); managing emotions; motivating oneself;
knowing others’ emotions; and handling relationships.
Moral intelligence is one's mental capacity to determine: how universal
human principles should be applied to our personal values, goals, and
actions
Spiritual Intelligence is one’s capacity to: relate soul with universe
(converting abstract into tangible)
Strategic choices for socialization and developing
corporate culture (choosing values)
People-centered: (e.g., placing the highest possible emphasis on the
personal and professional development of its staff)
Performance driven: (e.g., rewards such as salaries and promotion are
based totally upon performance)
Goal oriented: (e.g., staff fully share a clear sense of direction)
Innovation inclined: (e.g., organization always stimulates and supports
creative and experimental behaviors by individuals)
Client committed: (e.g., the greatest possible effort is made to identify
and satisfy the needs of clients)
Quality obsessed: (e.g., staff are always trying for betterment).
Inclusion-oriented: (e.g., embracing all sections of society)
Ethics-oriented: (e.g,. Emphasis is placed on the human behaviors
based on ethics, fairness, honesty, discipline, etc.)
Strategies for designing culture (socialization)
 Change formal structure of the organization (changing
work division/key players, systems, i.e.,
- Design performance-based management system
 Design performance evaluation system that measures
the features of desired culture
 Use reward and punishment system directed towards
development of desired culture
 Exert leadership influences (role modeling, etc.)
 Create new stories / symbols / rituals
 Take actions to make crisis visible
 Launch deliberate organizational socialization
 Select or replace appropriate org. members
HRD through career dev plan: Process
 Reviewing
HRD needs in line with organizational
development needs (technology adaptation, expansion)
 Identifying
career zones and tracks within each zone, in
line with HRD needs of NT
 Provisioningdifferent career tracks: normal, fast, semi-
automatic, automatic, etc.
 Setting pre-requisites for movement in each zone / track
 Linkingthe pre-requisites with HRD and individual
career goals
 Ensuring that:
- the average staff are normal tracks
- the promising staff are in the fast tracks
- the staff doing mono-jobs (stable specialized jobs) are semi-automatic or
automatic movement tracks
- staff in all zones and tracks are given opportunities to develop
competencies required for movement in the given tracks
Strategies for Improvement in PA
 Policy / system reforms

 Supervisory efforts

 Employee commitment – self motivation


HRD framework - Focus
A balanced development of multiple competencies include:
Cognitive Competence (IQ): An ability to generate, process and use
information (including general or technical knowledge and skills) for
understanding and performing jobs in specific sector / functional area,
profession, etc.
Emotional Competency (E-IQ): An ability to manage emotions in self
and others and use the emotions adaptively for both self management
and social management
Moral Competency (M-IQ) A cognitive and emotional ability to care and
apply universal, human, natural and ethical principles in personal
values, goals and actions.
Spiritual Competency (S-IQ): An ability to see and understand
relationships between soul and universe and to convert intangibles
into tangibles, at least for his own consumption and communication
with others.
These should be criteria for any making any decisions on recruitment,
utilization and disposition of youth resources.

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