29 Apr Human Resource Development and The Stage of Growth
Today the number of manpower has increased in the industries due to the industrial revolution. The need for the human resource management has become an important part of the growth and development of the society.
Human resource development has come to a stage where it can be treated as a profession. The first dedicated department was started in India about 25 years ago at the L&T, as center for human resource development was started at XLRI seven years later, a national human resource development network was formed in the year 1985 and has sustained itself with good work since then, an academy of human resource development was started in 1990,over fifty books have appeared in the last two decades on HRD, few institutions have started master’s in HRD programs, doctoral program is in place ,and the body of knowledge in this field is growing.
There are proper details available about the human resource development status in the earlier period which is discussed under:
| Period | Development Status | Outlook | Emphasis | Status |
| 1920s-1930s | Beginning | Pragmatism Of Capitalist’s | Statutory,
Welfare, Paternalism |
Clerical |
| 1940s-1960 | Struggling For Recognition | Technical Legalistic | Introduction Of Techniques | Administrative |
| 1970s-1980s | Achieving Sophistication | Professional,
Legalistic, Impersonal |
Regulatory, Conforming Imposition Of Standards On Other Functions | Managerial |
| The 1990s | Promising | Philosophical | Human Values, Productivity Through People | Executive |
The concept of human resource development has grown out of an evolution in India, which passed through various phases of development. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the initial concern was on ending the exploitation in what was called the ‘sweated industries’. As a result of this legislative measures were initiated by the state to protect employees against exploitation by their employers. This gave rise to welfarism as the key concept in the management of human resources.
In subsequent developments, many forward-looking employers introduced positive attitudes of welfare as well as providing amenities to their employees even beyond the legislated provision. This kind of warm and affectionate treatment to employees led to a kind of paternalism in Indian managers. The best example of this kind of paternalism was the measures introduced when Sir Jamshedji Tata described his employees as his children. The appointment of Welfare Officers under the factories act and the other legislative measures, which followed it, gave rise to a new profession in India.
The developments taking place in the industry in the middle of the century necessitated a lot of work connected with the establishment, which was not strictly in the realm of welfare officers but which required personnel who could handle recruitment, manpower planning, discipline and other maintenance roles necessary to perform the job. This was the second phase in which personnel officer’s profession was introduced in many organisations. In many industries, it combined the roles of a personnel officer and welfare officer.
Human resource development became deeply imbibed with the concern for introducing steps to bring about changes in the work ethos so that a right climate could be created for achieving the best performance. In other words, the emphasis to be shifting in the following sequence:
Welfare concept → Maintenance Concept → Conflict development Concept→ Culture and Performance Concept
These concepts finally constitute the core areas of human resource development today. Following the above developments, one can understand the anatomy of human resource development in India which, in spite of the use of varying terminology, has now arrived at a more comprehensive and holistic preoccupation with the development of human capital in the industry.
No Comments