BY

Oketa Daniel Oketa

Economics Department
Benue State University, Makurdi,
Nigeria
QUESTION: Human Resources Development is the Development of
Human Resource. Discuss.
In the course of attempting this question, the following context would be used
and elaborated upon.
1. What constitutes human resources
2. What constitute development
3. The Concept of Human Resources Development
4. Economic Approach to Human Resources Development
5. Factors responsible for high level of Human Resources Development
6. Various ways/means for developing human resources.

7. Advantages/importance of human resources Development to a country or

organization.
8. Are they any disadvantages of high human resources development?
9. Conclusion/summary and recommendations
10. Reference

WHAT CONSTITUTES HUMAN RESOURCES?

Human resources is/are the skills and the people collectively, who manage and
execute various functions for the achievement of an organizational goals which
may be a private entity or public bureaucracy. Humans are the people who made
up the organization and they deserve the relevant expertise, proficiency, ability
and all the equipment/infrastructure facilities needed to ensure effectiveness and
efficiency in the workplace. William R. Tracey, in The Human Resources
Glossary defines Human Resources as: “The people that staff and operate an
organization … as contrasted with the financial and material resources of an

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organization. In economics, Human resources can be referred to as the Labour
Force especially when putting the entire country into consideration

WHAT CONSTITUTE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT?

Development describes the growth of humans throughout the lifespan, from
conception to death including such activities that widen their intellectual horizon
which ensures creativity and innovations. The scientific study of human
development seeks to understand and explain how and why people change
throughout life. This includes all aspects of human growth, including physical,
emotional, intellectual, social, perceptual, and personality development.
Development does not just involve the biological and physical aspects of growth,
but also the cognitive and social aspects associated with development throughout
life.
The study of human development is important in a number of aspects, including
the level of literacy/education, labour efficacy and organizational objectives.
Most important, however, these fields facilitate the practical applications of
studying human development. By better understanding how and why people
change and grow, we can then apply this knowledge to helping people live up to
their full potential.

THE CONCEPT OF HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

The Concept of human resources development and human resources management
is interwoven such that human resources cannot be developed without being
managed or can be managed without being developed. This translates to mean
that human resources development involves the various functions of human
resources management. The Human Resources Management (HRM) function
includes a variety of activities, and key among them is deciding what staffing

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needs you have and whether to use independent contractors or hire employees to
fill these needs, recruiting and training the best employees, ensuring they are high
performers, dealing with performance issues, and ensuring your personnel and
management practices conform to various regulations. Activities also include
managing your approach to employee benefits and compensation, employee
records and personnel policies. Usually small businesses (for-profit or nonprofits)
have to carry out these activities themselves because they can't yet afford part- or
full-time help. However, they should always ensure that employees have—and
are aware of—personnel policies which conform to current regulations. These
policies are often in the form of employee manuals, which all employees have.
According to Randy Desmone and David Harris (1999)1, human resource
development is the effective utilization of employees in order to achieve the goals
and practices of the organization. They stressed that how human resource
function is carried out varies from organization to organization and from country
to country.

ECONOMIC APPROACH TO HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

Economic approach to human resources development is a social aspect of
economic development. Drawing upon his famous Chicago School thesis T. W.
Schultz turned away from physical capital accumulation to emphasize the need
for ‘Human capital’ formation. This led to the emphasis on education and
training as a pre-requisite for growth and the identification of the problem of
‘brain drain’ from third world countries to the first. W. Arthur Lewis and Hans
W. Singer retreated and heated Schulz point by arguing that social development
as a whole, notably education, health, infrastructural facilities etc by improving
human capital were very necessary for growth. They continued that,
industrialization, if it came at the cost of such social development could never be
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self- sustaining. In 1969, Dudley Seer made it clear that development means
eliminating poverty, unemployment and inequality. These three factors, to which
human resources development is a function.
1
Okpanni Ako Aaron: HRD. Lecture Note, Dec 2009 (Benue State Uni., Makurdi)
2
Dudley S. 1971 Development Theory
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FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR HIGH LEVEL OF HUMAN
RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT
The following can be considered as the factors which are responsible for high
level of human resources development to ensuring efficacy/efficiency in an
organization or country.
a. Employment. Human resources development takes effect most
especially when a person is employed either in an organisation or
government agency.
b. Government Polices. Government polices to increase human capital
formation can lead to high level of human resources development.
c. Education: An individual can receive resources development when he
or she is undertaking training in an institution of learning. For example,
the students of the Benue State University are undergoing an
educational form of human resources development to serve as an asset
to themselves and their society and Nigeria at large.
d. Availability of infrastructural facilities and equipment to felicitates
human resources development. For example the provision of good
accommodation, water, food, ICT, decent class rooms and other forms
of conducive environmental factors that would lead to high level of
productivity by students.
e. Willingness and the zeal to lean on the part of an individual or human
beings leads to high level of Human resources development.
f. Organizational Goals and objectives will in most cases determine the
level of human resources development.

Various ways/means of Human Resources Development

Since Human resource development’s objective, on the other hand, is to
maximize the return on investment from the organization's human capital and
minimize financial risk. It is the responsibility of human resource managers in a

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corporate context to conduct these activities in an effective, legal, fair, and
consistent in the following manner,

1. Recruitment & Selection

2. Training and Development (People or Organization)
3. Performance Evaluation and Management
4. Promotions/Transfer.

5. Redundancy: a situation where one has to leave their jobs because there are

no more jobs available for them.

6. Industrial and Employee Relations
7. Record keeping of all personal data.
8. Total Rewards: Employee Benefits & Compensation
9. Confidential advice to internal 'customers' in relation to problems at work
10. Career development through workshops, intensive courses and seminars

etc.
11.Competency Mapping (Competency mapping is a process an individual
uses to identify and describe competencies that are the most critical to
success in a work situation or work role.)
12.Time motion study is related to HR Function
13. Performance Appraisal: Day to day or monthly check on job performance

and competence.

ARE THEY ANY DISADVANTAGES OF HIGH HUMAN RESOURCES

DEVELOPMENT?
There is much significance churned out of a high level of human resources
development. These include:-
1. High productivity.

2. Realization of organizational gaols and objectives for maximum profit and

efficiency of resources.
3. Personal growth and development.

4. Effective and efficient work force.

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 5. Increase in social infrastructure and services, and equipment required for
the development of human resources development.
6. Human resources ensure and facilities labour mobility.

CONCLUSION/SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Human Resources Development HRD is an efficient way of ensuring transfer of
skills and knowledge in people. Human resources development is a key factor in
human resources management and as such can not be separated in practice. This
should be undertaken from time to time in any organization to determine the level
of performance and other objectives therein.

REFERENCE

1. McLean G. N. (2006):National Human Resource Development: A

Focused Study in Transitioning Societies in the Developing World. In
Advances in Developing Human Resources; 8; 3,

2. Nadler L Ed., (1984), The Handbook of Human resources Development,

John Wiley and Sons, New York.

3. Towers, David. (2006) "Human Resource Management essays".

http://www.towers.fr/essays/hrm.html. Retrieved 2007-10-17.

4. Elwood F. Holton II, James W. Trott, Jr., (1996), Trends Toward a

Closer Integration of Vocational Education and Human Resources
Development, Journal of Vocational and Technical Education, Vol. 12,
No. 2, p7

5. Wilkinson, A. (1988). "Empowerment: theory and practice". Personnel

Review 27 (1): 40–56.

6. http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/skills/hrdr/init/cze_8.htm

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 7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_resources"Categories:Human resource
management

8. Encyclopædia Britannica.

9. National policy. Advances in Developing Human Resources, August

(2004). 6 (3).