Alternative classification framework for engineering capability enhancement

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mana Patamakajonpong ◽  
Tirapot Chandarasupsang

Purpose – This paper aims to present an alternative practical framework to classify the skill and knowledge of the individual trainees by comparing it with the expert in an organization. This framework gives the benefit to the organization in order to know the ability level of the personnel and to be able to provide the personnel development method both in academic learning and workplace learning. Design/methodology/approach – This research develops the framework based on relevant methodologies. Competency-Based Development is applied to investigate the knowledge and skill of the specific task. Knowledge Engineering is used to capture the experiences and construct knowledge model from relevance parties. Capability Maturity Model is then adapted to develop the capability and maturity level of the personnel. It can then be used to cluster the knowledge and skill. Finally, the Substation Maintenance Department of Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), Thailand, is selected as a case study to test the proposed framework. Findings – The results have shown that the proposed framework can be utilized to identify the capability level of the individual personnel. Furthermore, the appropriate maturity development of the employees in each level can also be identified. This proposed framework provides better results when comparing to the current PEA competency model, as the criteria in this framework are systematically derived from experts rather than relying solely on the proficiency level. Although, this framework was tested with the switchgear maintenance task, the results and its systematic approach have indicated that it can also be used to develop the capability maturity model for other fields of work. Originality/value – The main originality of this research is the proposed competency analysis table, which integrates human resource development with knowledge management, risks management and management information system. Rather than performing these tasks separately for continuous quality improvement, organization can practically plan and perform the quality improvement-related tasks spontaneously. Moreover, the application of the capability maturity model to classify knowledge and skill of the maintenance tasks into maturity level is another academic value presented in this paper. The proposed framework gives the benefit to organization to classify the capability of the personnel. This is potentially beneficial to the human resource development personnel than traditional methods in the sense that it provides the information on how to develop the specific skill of the employees.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Alizadeh ◽  
Deepu Kurian ◽  
Shaoping Qiu ◽  
Khalil M. Dirani

Purpose The purpose of this study is to get the perspectives of human resource development (HRD) scholars about connections among HRD, corporate social responsibility sand ethics. The authors also sought to discover if HRD academic programs need to have ethics-related courses for their graduate students. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors reviewed the literature and interviewed ten HRD scholars who substantially contributed to the field of HRD and have influential publications related to ethics or corporate social responsibility to find out the relationship between HRD, ethics and corporate social responsibility. A semi-structured interview method was adopted to collect data and purposeful sampling technique was used for analyzing data into identified themes. Findings The results from the interviews were categorized into seven different themes. While some scholars argued that ethics-related discussion needs to be integrated within every course, most scholars stated that ethics can be a required standalone course for HRD graduate programs. Originality/value Despite ongoing consideration of the ethical nature of HRD, little research has been conducted on how ethics and corporate social responsibility are represented in the field of study and practice. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first empirical paper in HRD that collected and analyzed experts’ perspectives in this topic.


Author(s):  
Balakrishnan A ◽  
Dr. KVM Varambally

The impact of Globalization creates a competitive horizon with new markets, new products, new mindsets, new competencies, and new ways of thinking about business. As an outcome of this, the market places become more complex, uncertain, competitive, and transformational. In this era, the major challenge faced by any organization is to maintain a peaceful as well positive culture and climate inside the organization. The human resource development climate of an organization plays a significant role in ensuring the competency, motivation, and development of its employees. Here the term climate denotes the quality of the internal environment. It influences morale and the attitudes of the individual toward his work and his environment. Culture refers to the deep structure of organizations, which is rooted in the values, beliefs, and assumptions held by organizational members. The study was aimed to analyze the Human Resource Development culture and climate of chemical-based public sector enterprises in Kerala. The results indicated that the Human Resource Development climate in an organization is average and the perception of employees regarding Human Resource Development culture and climate does not differs significantly based on age, job approval status, and qualification. But it differs significantly based on gender and experiences.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Fang ◽  
Panpan Zhang ◽  
Sehoon Kim

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore recent national human resource development (NHRD) practices in China through a literature review focusing on programs and activities that represent the roles and interactions among the government, industry and universities. Design/methodology/approach To effectively consolidate previous work and conceptualize the recent development of the NHRD practices in China, a semi-narrative literature review was used to explore and analyze NHRD-related functions and activities. Findings Findings from the literature review showed that although the central government still plays a predominant role in China, universities and corporations are increasingly playing a critical role in developing an innovative and skilled workforce. At the regional level, NHRD initiatives in China have been increasingly undertaken by universities, industry and government–industry–university collaborations. The authors also found a disparity between developed and underdeveloped regions in terms of NHRD in China. Research limitations/implications This study used the triple helix model as a framework that provides an insightful lens for researchers to examine how various social entities interact with each other and jointly contribute to NHRD. Further case studies are needed to generate evidence-based knowledge to the NHRD literature. Practical implications A more systematic NHRD leadership structure at both the national and local level is desired to unleash the potential of bottom-up development and active government–industry–university collaboration. To counter regional divergence in NHRD in China, intra- and cross-regional collaborations are helpful in improving resources distribution and workforce development. Originality/value Based on open system theory, this study focused on programs and activities that represent the roles and interactions among the government, industry and university in Chinese NHRD through the lens of the triple helix model. In addition, this study offers a conceptual model of Chinese NHRD to help scholars and practitioners understand the transitional efforts in NHRD.


2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-153
Author(s):  
Adebayo Serge Francois Koukpaki ◽  
Kweku Adams ◽  
Adegboyega Oyedijo

PurposeThis research explores the significant contribution of human resource development (HRD) managers in building organisational brands in the hotel industry through the lenses of dynamic capabilities for sustaining competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative case study design, this study deployed a semi-structured interview research method. It used a purposive sample of 20 HRD managers across twenty different hotels in India and South East Asia (ISEA) to explore their contribution to organisational brands. The data was analysed using thematic analysis.FindingsThe findings show the significance of HRD in building organisational brands. From a dynamic capabilities perspective, it was found that HRD has an impact on fostering brand awareness culture; HRD functional branding enhances the creation and sustaining of quality service culture; functional branding of HRD helps differentiate the brand and quality service, for product development and innovation by linking talent development and growth of key competencies and capabilities; brand training and behavioural training directly influence the right behaviour knowledge and effective communication that is translated into the enhancement of guest experience; and finally, organisational branding through branding culture and employer branding creates organisational wealth.Originality/valueThe authors propose a new conceptual framework for the branding of the Heroes to reclaim the HRD's splendour in the realm of other functions in the hotel industry in ISEA contexts. While the authors do not claim an external generalisability, we believe that an analytical application of this framework could be relevant in similar environments. The study also claims that HRD practitioners could use parallel literature repertoires from brand management discourse to value their strategic contributions in building and maintaining their reputational position at the board level. Practical implications and further research are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Osafo ◽  
Robert Mayfield Yawson

Purpose The purpose of this study is to present a conceptual framework to guide the design, development, implementation and evaluation of education and human resource development (HRD) efforts in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on the concept of a tempered radical approach to provide a framework for a critical HRD (CHRD) and explore ways by which this view can contribute to developing HR who possess the requisite tools and character to function efficiently in the 21st century and beyond. This paper followed a multidisciplinary integrated literature review approach. This paper also reviewed relevant models and theories that align with the goals of this research to provide a broader view of the problems with HRD in Ghana and to help develop a framework that seeks to provide a sustainable guide for those involved in HRD activities in Ghana. Findings A positive outcome from the synergistic alignment between modern science and indigenous ecological knowledge moderated by the principles of CHRD will result in economic growth and development. HRD’s contribution to economic growth and development and its consequential benefit to the actors will depend on how best CHRD goals are accomplished. Practical implications The mediating role of the tempered radicalism will help modify the swiftness with which education and HRD programs are executed in Ghana. Originality/value This paper presented the tempered radicalism approach as the quintessential model for education and HRD initiatives in Ghana. The application of tempered radicalism in HRD literature is novel.


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (8/9) ◽  
pp. 595-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajashi Ghosh ◽  
Seth Jacobson

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to conduct a critical review of the mediation studies published in the field of Human Resource Development (HRD) to discern if the study designs, the nature of data collection and the choice of statistical methods justify the causal claims made in those studies. Design/methodology/approach This paper conducts a critical review of published refereed articles that examined mediation in Human Resource Development Quarterly, Human Resource Development International, Advances in Developing Human Resources and European Journal of Training and Development. Mediation studies published in these journals from 2000 to 2015 were identified and coded. The four journals sampled were chosen to provide breadth of coverage of the different types of empirical studies published in the field of HRD. Findings The review findings imply that HRD scholars are not employing experimental or longitudinal designs in their studies when randomized experiments and longitudinal studies with at least three waves of data collection are regarded as the golden standards of causal research. Further, the findings indicate that sophisticated statistical modeling approaches like structural equation modeling are widely used to examine mediation in cross-sectional studies and most importantly, a large number of such studies do not acknowledge that cross-sectional data does not allow definite causal claims. Research limitations/implications Although the findings urge us to rethink the inferences of mediation effects reported over the past 15 years in the field of HRD, this study also serves as a guide in thinking about framing and testing causal mediation models in future HRD research and even argues for a paradigm shift from a positivist orientation to critical and postmodern perspectives that can accommodate mixed methods designs for mediation research in HRD. Originality/value This paper presents a critical review of the trends in examining mediation models in the HRD discipline, suggests best practices for researchers examining the causal process of mediation and directs readers to recent methodological articles that have discussed causal issues in mediation studies.


Author(s):  
Jay Andrew Cohen

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is in providing guidance to human resource development and frontline managers in shaping employee learning at work. Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes a viewpoint approach. Findings – This paper builds on recent discussions on the inseparable nature of working and learning: peripheral management practice that facilitates employee learning (Cohen, 2014) to focus on the practical activities that frontline managers can do to promote and facilitate employee learning. Originality/value – To the best of my knowledge and belief, this paper contains no material previously published or written by any other person, except where due reference is given in the text.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 215-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rob F. Poell ◽  
Ferd Van Der Krogt

Purpose Human resource development (HRD) is an important field within management. Developing employees is often regarded as an instrument to improve the internal labor market and support organizational change. Organizing HRD to these ends, however, is frequently a problematic affair, in terms of training effectiveness, participant motivation and added value. This study, which consists of two parts, aims to investigate the question of why this is the case. In this second part, two specific aspects of the learning-network theory are elaborated: multiple experiences in organizations forming the basis of employee learning and development, and different actor strategies for organizing HRD. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a conceptual framework to argue that one of the main reasons why organizing HRD is problematic lies in the limited and one-sided conceptualization of organizing HRD that is often used. Findings Organizing HRD is mostly viewed as designing training courses and instruction sessions for employees; it is also predominantly understood as a tool of management. The paper proposes a network perspective on organizing HRD, which is better able to guide organizational actors than other approaches can, by taking into account a broader set of HRD practices and viewing employees (besides managers) as key stakeholders. Originality/value The study argues that organizing HRD needs to take into account learning experiences that employees can gain from participating in work and career development as well (besides formal training); moreover, that employees’ HRD strategies are at least as important as those used by line managers and HR practitioners.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Alizadeh ◽  
Khalil M. Dirani ◽  
Shaoping Qiu

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to point out the importance of having an ethics-related course for human resource development (HRD) graduate programs; and second, to highlight HRD potential to minimize ethical misconducts through an ethical filter in organizations. Design/methodology/approach This paper is conceptual in nature. The authors used their own experiences in HRD programs, looked at HRD graduate programs’ curricula in different universities and reviewed literature on ethics and HRD to develop a conceptual model. The model is to guide future studies and identify the role of HRD practices to create an ethical climate in organizations. Findings In this paper, the authors illustrate the connection between HRD practices and ethical climate in organizations by providing a conceptual framework. In the concluding paragraphs, the authors provide a discussion, implications and recommendations for future studies. Originality/value The authors highlight the limited research conducted on how ethics and ethical dilemmas need to be represented in HRD practitioners’ activities and practices. Many graduate-level HRD students do not receive enough training on ethics, whereas it is their responsibility to help improve organizational ethical climate and educate and prepare human resources to minimize ethical misconducts and wrongdoings. The paper provides a framework for HRD practitioners to create a strong ethical climate in their organizations.


Author(s):  
Pierre C Vella ◽  
Stefan S Dimov ◽  
Roussi Minev ◽  
Emmanuel B Brousseau

This article presents a systematic approach for assessing the maturity of manufacturing technologies. A methodology is proposed that is based on modelling the capability of the individual processes and technology interfaces between them. It is inspired by a capability maturity model which has been applied successfully in the field of software engineering. The methodology was developed to assess the maturity levels of individual processes and the combined maturity of pairs or chains of processes. To demonstrate its validity, it was applied for assessing the maturity of technologies in the micro and nano manufacturing domain. The results demonstrated its applicability as a tool for evaluating the maturity of micro and nano manufacturing pairs and their constituent processes. Also, it was shown that the methodology can be employed for identifying process pairs, suitable for integration in process chains, together with their potential weaknesses.


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