Human resource development
Introduction
Human resource or employees are the most dynamic and usually the most expensive of
all the organisation‘s resources. They need to be supported and nurtured if they are to
achieve their full potential, both for themselves and for the organisation. As a man-
ager/administrator one is responsible for the performance of all of his/her staff and
he/she should be actively involved in the process of identifying and attempting to satisfy
their training needs. However, as Torrington et al. (2005) rightly argue, any success in
human resource development owes much to the extent to which such success is linked
with corporate strategy. At the end of this topic learners should be able to:
- Appreciate the role of training in job performance specifically with regards to the
following. - Describe the training needs assessment process.
- Choose appropriate training and development methods for your staff.
- Appreciate the role of management in career development.
Education, training and development
A frequently asked question is ‘What is the difference between training and develop-
ment or between education and training?’ Usually the difference is based on the theo-
retical paradigm one wishes to use to justify for training or education (Mankin 2009).
For example, in human capital theory Becker (1964) propounds that although education
and training are not the same in terms of scope and strategy used both help organisa-
tions to derive economic value from employees as a result of knowledge, skills and ex-
perience. What makes the two concepts different can be observed from the following
definitions and descriptions.
Education
This is basic instruction in knowledge and skills designed to enable people to make the
most of life in general. It is personal, broadly based and tends to be classroom based and