A paper presented at the 6th Uganda Society Scientific Conference 17th -18th December 2008 at Kyambogo University.
Key words: Human Resource, Planning, Development
Introduction
Economic, social and political transformation of any society is largely determined by the level of investment that particular society has put in its human resource. Human resource is the single most important resource for any society (country) to be able to achieve meaningful economic development which is sustainable because human beings are the agents of development. This paper explores and makes a critique of Uganda’s journey since independence to date, scrutinizing efforts, policies and programmes put in place by government and other development partners to develop the country, through human resource empowerment. The paper offers an insight on the prevailing bottlenecks and challenges that have hindered the process of attaining positive human resource transformation over the years. It evaluates Uganda’s situation vis-à-vis scenarios obtaining in various developing countries mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and makes a comparison of mechanisms and policies employed by developed nations to transform their economies through deliberate human resource planning and intervention policies. The paper also analyses the controversy surrounding the recommended policy by the government of Uganda to promote and emphasize Science based subjects rather than Arts courses as a unified measure of causing development in the country. The paper makes a strong case for the need of deliberate long-term strategic planning of Uganda’s human capital that is tangible, well defined and meticulous.
Human Resources Development (HRD)
HRD is a process whereby individuals learn through experience to be more effective. It aims to help people utilize the skills and knowledge that training and education has given them, not only in their current jobs but also for future posts as well. It embodies concepts such as psychological growth, maturity and increased confidence. (Steve 1998). HRD is the integrated use of training, career development and organizational development to improve personal and organizational effectiveness. (Ralph Stone1997) HRD is a label covering a wide range of activities which should lead to better capabilities and hence effectiveness of the human resource. (Allan Fowler: 2003).
Human Resources Development is a framework for the expansion of human capital within an organization or country. It is a combination of training and education that ensures the continual improvement and growth of both the individual and the organization. When you are educated and trained, you are likely to develop your career, social and economic life. Development is therefore both qualitative and quantitative change in an individual. HRD activities are designed to produce change in the physical and mental efforts people put in their work; produce behavioral change of employees; produce greater capabilities of individuals within the organization and help individuals realize their potential.
Adam Smith states,” The capacities of individuals depended on their access to education”. (Kelly D, 2001) Human Resources Development is the medium that drives the process between training and learning. Human Resources Development is not a defined object, but a series of organized processes, “with a specific learning objective” (Nadler, 1984) Human Resources Development is the structure that allows for individual development, potentially satisfying the organization’s goals. The development of the individual will benefit both the individual and the organization. The Human Resources Development framework views employees, as an asset to the enterprise whose value will be enhanced by development, “Its primary focus is on growth and employee development…it emphasizes developing individual potential and skills” (Elwood, olton and Trott 1996) Human Resources Development can be in-room group training, tertiary or vocational courses or mentoring and coaching by senior employees with the aim for a desired outcome that will develop the individual’s performance.
A successful Human Resources Development program will prepare the individual to undertake a higher level of work, “organized learning over a given period of time, to provide the possibility of performance change” (Nadler 1984). Human Resources Development is the framework that focuses on the organizations competencies at the first stage, training, and then developing the employee, through education, to satisfy the organizations long-term needs and the individuals’ career goals and employee value to their present and future employers.
Human Resources Development can be defined simply as developing the most important section of any business its human resource by, “attaining or upgrading the skills and attitudes of employees at all levels in order to maximize the effectiveness of the enterprise” (Kelly 2001) The people within an organization are its human resource. Human Resources Development from a business perspective is not entirely focused on the individual’s growth and development, “development occurs to enhance the organization's value, not solely for individual improvement. Individual education and development is a tool and a means to an end, not the end goal itself”. (Elwood F. Holton II, James W. Trott Jr) HRD starts at individual and organizational levels but ultimately it benefits the whole country. This calls for government to give a helping hand to organizations and companies to continuously improve their human resources. The activity of developing human resources can never be left to the private sector alone. There must be a comprehensive policy by the state to plan for the same over a very long period of time.
Importance of Human Resource Development
Human Resource is the most Important and vital Factor of Economic Development. It can be said that humans are the agents of development. Human Resource or Human Capital are important because:1) Country Develops if The Human Resource is Developed: To enhance economic development the state constructs roads, buildings bridges, dams, power houses, hospitals, etc. to run these units doctors, engineers, scientist, teachers, are required. So if the state invests in a human resource it pays dividend in response.2) Increase in Productivity: The better education, improved skills, and provision of healthy atmosphere will result in proper and most efficient use of resources (non-natural & natural) which will result in increase in economic production.
3) Eradication of Social and Economic Backwardness: Human Resource development has an ample effect on the backwardness economy and society. The provision of education will ultimately have a positive impact on the way of thinking for the majority hence transformation
EDUCATION & TRAINING
Education is the process whose purposes are to impart knowledge and develop the way mental faculties are used. Education is not primarily concerned with job performance. (Kempton John; 1998) Educating oneself has become the hallmark of our times. Formal education equips the individual with logical, rational and disciplined way of thinking (McDonald Kimberly: 1991). This endeavors to impart knowledge, skills and necessary attitudes to perform job related tasks. (Cascio Wayne: 1998). Training is performance based and competence driven. It is about improved job performance and behavioral change.
EDUCATION & HUMAN RESOURCES FOR UGANDA
Uganda was previously known to be an education power house not only in East Africa but the rest of the world as well because of its competitive education systems. Government has allowed the standards to consistently decline in spite of the outcry from both the academic world and other social circles. Another classic example of the deteriorating standards of education systems in Uganda, apart from UPE is Makerere University that has over the years been falling in international university world rankings. According to the latest rankings of world universities updated in January 2008, the 86-year old university is now placed at number 47th, seven steps up from where it was last year. Although the ranking has improved, infrastructure and learning atmosphere has not changed at all. Unless radical changes are introduced at the Ivory Tower, as it used to be called, the university’s international and national status will continue to decline which will ultimately affect its academic products.
Developing countries don’t have enough well trained human resources. Those who are well trained usually find it difficult to offer their services in their countries because they are paid low wages. In Uganda for instance not withstanding the fact that the country produces few doctors and other medical professionals, the few that are trained end up going to developed countries where they expect to get better pay than they would get if they stayed around. Brain drain is seriously hampering the efforts of developing nations by making the already bad situation to become worse.
Uganda has over 20 registered Universities majority of which are private. They produce approximately 20,000 graduates annually who qualify in various fields (NCHE 2007). Although government has come out to emphasize that students should be encouraged to study science courses, this policy is still shrouded in mystery. Many courses being offered in the country remain largely inappropriate due to poor planning and forecasting. Some courses that were introduced at public universities long time ago are still being taught in the same form and content almost fifty years ever since. For example Makerere University under its faculty of Arts continues to teach the course of History that is completely irrelevant and out of touch with Uganda’s development needs. This is not to say that history should not be taught in our schools. It should only be taught in as far as it is relevant and should as much as possible be relevant to Uganda’s aspirations.
Universal Primary Education (UPE) which was introduced by government in 1997 was a well intentioned programme, if well implemented would have had enormous positive impact on the development trend of the country in the years to come. It has however been roundly criticized and rightly so because it was hurriedly introduced without carefully considering the likely upheavals it would encounter. Hardly was any consultation done. It was as if the whole programme would work miraculously. The consequence as has been a high dropout rate of children from schools and other attendant problems.
Perhaps the biggest criticism about UPE has been the continuous decline in education standards in majority of schools where the programme is implemented. There have been consistent allegations that students who go through UPE schools are not as knowledgeable compared to the ones who go through private ones. Primary education being the foundation and most important level where an individual attains critical aspects of academic self realization means that Uganda is going to face a greater challenge in future when the children who are benefitting from such a poor education finally become part of the pool of human resources that are supposed to drive the country towards development. Uganda will have to incur extra expenses to retrain such people and at the same time we are going to face a serious challenge because such people are not easy to retrain compared to those who are groomed in their early education life. It is very pertinent that government realizes early enough that few best trained persons are better than many ill trained persons who are as good as illiterate.
The development direction of any country is largely determined by the legacy of its institutions of higher learning (Bratton John 1998). Universities form the backbone of any country’s development aspirations. They are pioneers of research and development ideas. They help to refocus the development goals of a country. Where universities are not well facilitated countries will have problems to achieve meaningful development because the people who are supposed to champion development are mediocre. The earlier a country invests in its human resource and specifically in the education system, the earlier it will reap the benefits there from. This is not to say that government has not achieved anything in as far as education of its citizens and planning for its human resource is concerned.
Government efforts for instance in establishing the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), a body responsible for ensuring quality higher education and regulation universities, must be recommended. This institution must however be supported and encouraged to ensure it lives up to the expectations of the wider public. NCHE must be strict in enforcing its regulations and should guarantee that universities that don’t meet minimum standards are told to improve in the shortest possible time or completely closed down when they fail to comply. NCHE should also put in place monitoring systems such that all institutions of higher learning in Uganda maintain the highest standards possible at all times. Only through this way, can we produce and maintain human resources that are up to the challenge of developing the country.
HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING (HRP)
In order for a country to attain consistent and meaningful human resource development, it must make human resource planning a priority because without it, resource development and development itself may either be hard to achieve or it may take a longer period than is necessary. According to Decenzo and Robins (1996), human resource planning is defined as “a process by which an organization ensures that it has the right number and kinds of people, at the right places, at the right time, capable of effectively and efficiently completing those tasks that will help the organization (country) to achieve its overall objectives”. The implication of this is that HRP translates the country’s development objectives and plans into the number of workers needed to accomplish the tasks at hand.
In sum therefore, HRP is a systematic and continuous process of analyzing a country’s human resource needs, with the view of developing appropriate HR policies to fill them. Human resource planning is a dynamic process. It needs to integrate with the wider national objectives through strategic development and manpower planning. The key elements to ensure the achievement of these objectives are: fair and appropriate selection practices; identification of overall skills profile; investment in training and development; and anticipation of supply and demand. HRP ensures that people (human capital) are available for the smooth running of the state in every department and for every work or activity and assess the country’s position in terms of demand and supply of human resources in view of the changing circumstances. It matches the demand and the supply of all human resources geared towards fulfilling the country’s development agenda.
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
Strategy is a means to an end i.e. a plan, policy, course of action, approach, and tactic, line of attack, manner, method, mode or practice used regularly to attain a goal. It is also a means to succeed. The concept of strategy is defined by Johnson and Scholes (1993) as: ‘the direction and scope of the organization over the longer term, which ideally matches its resources to its changing environment and in particular, its markets, customers, and clients to meet stakeholder expectations’. The strategic management process involves the Visioning and developing a mission statement, setting objectives, crafting a strategy to achieve the performance objectives, implementing and executing the strategy evaluating performance, reviewing the situation and initiating corrective adjustments.
SHRP is an integrated approach of ensuring that plans and decisions regarding human resource requirements of the organization are carefully matched with both short term and long term business strategy. A business strategy should take the changing environment and how its affects the future performance of the organization. The benefits of strategic approach to managing human resources provides better guidance to the entire nation to the crucial issue of what the government is trying to do and how to do it. It makes government more alert to the winds of change, new opportunities and threatening developments and provides technocrats with a rationale to evaluate competing budget requests from various sectors of the economy. It also helps to unify the numerous government strategies and creates a more proactive management and counter acting tendencies for decisions to be reactive and defensive.
Factors that may have an impact on strategic human resource planning:
Political instability- it leads to migration of productive and most needed labor force ( brain drain), capital flight, inequality of incomes etc
Taxation- tax evasion, tax avoidance
Demographic factors i.e. changes in population structure.
Structure of the population.
Technological changes.
Rules and regulation on employment.
Mechanization of production.
Globalization has an impact /bearing on competitiveness.
Privatization.
Public service Divestiture Reform Program.
Assessing current Human Resources
The major concern of manpower planning is to make effective use of people through proper forecasting of the right number and kind of people required. Conducting an analysis of the present position of Uganda’s human resource, which documents the number of workers, their skills and experience is essential. Currently it is very difficult to get reliable data on all human resources in the country. What seems to be the norm is to make rough estimates about categories of persons and the skills they hold. With modern technology, the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is utilized to generate this information. Internal analysis is best accomplished through job analysis which comprises of three major components i.e. job description, person specifications and job evaluation. A good job analysis is helpful in identifying the kinds of individuals government needs most or those that are most relevant according to prevailing needs. Government should provide guidance for decisions about training, career development to avoid people training in irrelevant courses that hardly have impact on its programmes. HRP analysis would help government to answer the “where are we and where do we want to go?” question in terms of the HR needs through human resource inventories. We have to match HR to the future requirements of the country and ensure the availability of distinctive capabilities and competences of the various cadres in different crucial fields
Technology with which international companies are producing their goods and services are rapidly changing. And this has a direct impact on Uganda’s human resources and development in general. Improved technology may require fewer people to do the job that has previously been done by many people. As a result, the demand for manpower may greatly reduce. Those with skills that are not very relevant may be laid off. In addition Ugandans must appreciate the essence of productivity. Employee productivity refers to the output per man-hour. If the employee productivity is high, it means that fewer people are producing more output. Companies would therefore require fewer individuals to produce the required output levels hence cutting costs. They must as well be punctual and desist from absenting themselves from work. Government must develop policies and methods of forecasting by using ratio trend analysis and simple arithmetic formula to arrive at desired human resource requirements for the whole country. It should also develop standards for numbers and levels of employees that are needed to do certain work by estimating the manpower demands based on past experiences and on a comprehensive national manpower and human resource plan.
Manpower Requirements
The balance between the outcomes of supply and demand forecasting determines future manpower requirements. This however, should be interpreted in line with future government development plans, depending on its priorities. The diagram below illustrates how government can ably implement simple but achievable versatile human resources through planning.
IMPLEMENTATION OF HRP (Manpower action Planning)
Rigorous HR planning links people management to the organization's mission, vision, goals and objectives, as well as its strategic plan and budgetary resources. A key goal of HR planning is to get the right number of people with the right skills, experience and competencies in the right jobs at the right time at the right cost. Implementation of the HRP is the final stage of the traditional HRP process. It is also considers the evaluation of the overall effectiveness. Implementation of plans involves consulting various stakeholders on what they think could be the manpower deficits and how they can adequately be addressed. The resource gaps identified become the leading determinants in meeting human resource targets. The main plan is he HRD plan under which, interest is put on: the number of people required for particular jobs and the programme for training them. There is also need to develop a control plan which relates the extent to which the planning process has contributed to the effective and efficient utilization of human resources and ultimately to the achievement of national objectives. Therefore the control plan will set out monitoring procedures to ensure that the targets set are achieved.
Conclusion
In conclusion there is need for government to determine human resource needs, establish human resource management policy, undertake Human Resource Development and make national development analysis to stay ahead of the ever changing global dynamics that in most cases have direct effects on our economy. Emphasis must be put to higher education, specifically at University level by dedicating more resources especially in the area of research. Development can never be achieved by chance. It has to be through deliberate well-defined programmes, executed through carefully thought-through planning. A country’s manpower largely determines its level of development. No country has ever developed throughout human history without investing in its human resources and in high quality education for its citizens. Uganda will not be the exception of this rule.
Introduction
Economic, social and political transformation of any society is largely determined by the level of investment that particular society has put in its human resource. Human resource is the single most important resource for any society (country) to be able to achieve meaningful economic development which is sustainable because human beings are the agents of development. This paper explores and makes a critique of Uganda’s journey since independence to date, scrutinizing efforts, policies and programmes put in place by government and other development partners to develop the country, through human resource empowerment. The paper offers an insight on the prevailing bottlenecks and challenges that have hindered the process of attaining positive human resource transformation over the years. It evaluates Uganda’s situation vis-à-vis scenarios obtaining in various developing countries mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and makes a comparison of mechanisms and policies employed by developed nations to transform their economies through deliberate human resource planning and intervention policies. The paper also analyses the controversy surrounding the recommended policy by the government of Uganda to promote and emphasize Science based subjects rather than Arts courses as a unified measure of causing development in the country. The paper makes a strong case for the need of deliberate long-term strategic planning of Uganda’s human capital that is tangible, well defined and meticulous.
Human Resources Development (HRD)
HRD is a process whereby individuals learn through experience to be more effective. It aims to help people utilize the skills and knowledge that training and education has given them, not only in their current jobs but also for future posts as well. It embodies concepts such as psychological growth, maturity and increased confidence. (Steve 1998). HRD is the integrated use of training, career development and organizational development to improve personal and organizational effectiveness. (Ralph Stone1997) HRD is a label covering a wide range of activities which should lead to better capabilities and hence effectiveness of the human resource. (Allan Fowler: 2003).
Human Resources Development is a framework for the expansion of human capital within an organization or country. It is a combination of training and education that ensures the continual improvement and growth of both the individual and the organization. When you are educated and trained, you are likely to develop your career, social and economic life. Development is therefore both qualitative and quantitative change in an individual. HRD activities are designed to produce change in the physical and mental efforts people put in their work; produce behavioral change of employees; produce greater capabilities of individuals within the organization and help individuals realize their potential.
Adam Smith states,” The capacities of individuals depended on their access to education”. (Kelly D, 2001) Human Resources Development is the medium that drives the process between training and learning. Human Resources Development is not a defined object, but a series of organized processes, “with a specific learning objective” (Nadler, 1984) Human Resources Development is the structure that allows for individual development, potentially satisfying the organization’s goals. The development of the individual will benefit both the individual and the organization. The Human Resources Development framework views employees, as an asset to the enterprise whose value will be enhanced by development, “Its primary focus is on growth and employee development…it emphasizes developing individual potential and skills” (Elwood, olton and Trott 1996) Human Resources Development can be in-room group training, tertiary or vocational courses or mentoring and coaching by senior employees with the aim for a desired outcome that will develop the individual’s performance.
A successful Human Resources Development program will prepare the individual to undertake a higher level of work, “organized learning over a given period of time, to provide the possibility of performance change” (Nadler 1984). Human Resources Development is the framework that focuses on the organizations competencies at the first stage, training, and then developing the employee, through education, to satisfy the organizations long-term needs and the individuals’ career goals and employee value to their present and future employers.
Human Resources Development can be defined simply as developing the most important section of any business its human resource by, “attaining or upgrading the skills and attitudes of employees at all levels in order to maximize the effectiveness of the enterprise” (Kelly 2001) The people within an organization are its human resource. Human Resources Development from a business perspective is not entirely focused on the individual’s growth and development, “development occurs to enhance the organization's value, not solely for individual improvement. Individual education and development is a tool and a means to an end, not the end goal itself”. (Elwood F. Holton II, James W. Trott Jr) HRD starts at individual and organizational levels but ultimately it benefits the whole country. This calls for government to give a helping hand to organizations and companies to continuously improve their human resources. The activity of developing human resources can never be left to the private sector alone. There must be a comprehensive policy by the state to plan for the same over a very long period of time.
Importance of Human Resource Development
Human Resource is the most Important and vital Factor of Economic Development. It can be said that humans are the agents of development. Human Resource or Human Capital are important because:1) Country Develops if The Human Resource is Developed: To enhance economic development the state constructs roads, buildings bridges, dams, power houses, hospitals, etc. to run these units doctors, engineers, scientist, teachers, are required. So if the state invests in a human resource it pays dividend in response.2) Increase in Productivity: The better education, improved skills, and provision of healthy atmosphere will result in proper and most efficient use of resources (non-natural & natural) which will result in increase in economic production.
3) Eradication of Social and Economic Backwardness: Human Resource development has an ample effect on the backwardness economy and society. The provision of education will ultimately have a positive impact on the way of thinking for the majority hence transformation
EDUCATION & TRAINING
Education is the process whose purposes are to impart knowledge and develop the way mental faculties are used. Education is not primarily concerned with job performance. (Kempton John; 1998) Educating oneself has become the hallmark of our times. Formal education equips the individual with logical, rational and disciplined way of thinking (McDonald Kimberly: 1991). This endeavors to impart knowledge, skills and necessary attitudes to perform job related tasks. (Cascio Wayne: 1998). Training is performance based and competence driven. It is about improved job performance and behavioral change.
EDUCATION & HUMAN RESOURCES FOR UGANDA
Uganda was previously known to be an education power house not only in East Africa but the rest of the world as well because of its competitive education systems. Government has allowed the standards to consistently decline in spite of the outcry from both the academic world and other social circles. Another classic example of the deteriorating standards of education systems in Uganda, apart from UPE is Makerere University that has over the years been falling in international university world rankings. According to the latest rankings of world universities updated in January 2008, the 86-year old university is now placed at number 47th, seven steps up from where it was last year. Although the ranking has improved, infrastructure and learning atmosphere has not changed at all. Unless radical changes are introduced at the Ivory Tower, as it used to be called, the university’s international and national status will continue to decline which will ultimately affect its academic products.
Developing countries don’t have enough well trained human resources. Those who are well trained usually find it difficult to offer their services in their countries because they are paid low wages. In Uganda for instance not withstanding the fact that the country produces few doctors and other medical professionals, the few that are trained end up going to developed countries where they expect to get better pay than they would get if they stayed around. Brain drain is seriously hampering the efforts of developing nations by making the already bad situation to become worse.
Uganda has over 20 registered Universities majority of which are private. They produce approximately 20,000 graduates annually who qualify in various fields (NCHE 2007). Although government has come out to emphasize that students should be encouraged to study science courses, this policy is still shrouded in mystery. Many courses being offered in the country remain largely inappropriate due to poor planning and forecasting. Some courses that were introduced at public universities long time ago are still being taught in the same form and content almost fifty years ever since. For example Makerere University under its faculty of Arts continues to teach the course of History that is completely irrelevant and out of touch with Uganda’s development needs. This is not to say that history should not be taught in our schools. It should only be taught in as far as it is relevant and should as much as possible be relevant to Uganda’s aspirations.
Universal Primary Education (UPE) which was introduced by government in 1997 was a well intentioned programme, if well implemented would have had enormous positive impact on the development trend of the country in the years to come. It has however been roundly criticized and rightly so because it was hurriedly introduced without carefully considering the likely upheavals it would encounter. Hardly was any consultation done. It was as if the whole programme would work miraculously. The consequence as has been a high dropout rate of children from schools and other attendant problems.
Perhaps the biggest criticism about UPE has been the continuous decline in education standards in majority of schools where the programme is implemented. There have been consistent allegations that students who go through UPE schools are not as knowledgeable compared to the ones who go through private ones. Primary education being the foundation and most important level where an individual attains critical aspects of academic self realization means that Uganda is going to face a greater challenge in future when the children who are benefitting from such a poor education finally become part of the pool of human resources that are supposed to drive the country towards development. Uganda will have to incur extra expenses to retrain such people and at the same time we are going to face a serious challenge because such people are not easy to retrain compared to those who are groomed in their early education life. It is very pertinent that government realizes early enough that few best trained persons are better than many ill trained persons who are as good as illiterate.
The development direction of any country is largely determined by the legacy of its institutions of higher learning (Bratton John 1998). Universities form the backbone of any country’s development aspirations. They are pioneers of research and development ideas. They help to refocus the development goals of a country. Where universities are not well facilitated countries will have problems to achieve meaningful development because the people who are supposed to champion development are mediocre. The earlier a country invests in its human resource and specifically in the education system, the earlier it will reap the benefits there from. This is not to say that government has not achieved anything in as far as education of its citizens and planning for its human resource is concerned.
Government efforts for instance in establishing the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE), a body responsible for ensuring quality higher education and regulation universities, must be recommended. This institution must however be supported and encouraged to ensure it lives up to the expectations of the wider public. NCHE must be strict in enforcing its regulations and should guarantee that universities that don’t meet minimum standards are told to improve in the shortest possible time or completely closed down when they fail to comply. NCHE should also put in place monitoring systems such that all institutions of higher learning in Uganda maintain the highest standards possible at all times. Only through this way, can we produce and maintain human resources that are up to the challenge of developing the country.
HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING (HRP)
In order for a country to attain consistent and meaningful human resource development, it must make human resource planning a priority because without it, resource development and development itself may either be hard to achieve or it may take a longer period than is necessary. According to Decenzo and Robins (1996), human resource planning is defined as “a process by which an organization ensures that it has the right number and kinds of people, at the right places, at the right time, capable of effectively and efficiently completing those tasks that will help the organization (country) to achieve its overall objectives”. The implication of this is that HRP translates the country’s development objectives and plans into the number of workers needed to accomplish the tasks at hand.
In sum therefore, HRP is a systematic and continuous process of analyzing a country’s human resource needs, with the view of developing appropriate HR policies to fill them. Human resource planning is a dynamic process. It needs to integrate with the wider national objectives through strategic development and manpower planning. The key elements to ensure the achievement of these objectives are: fair and appropriate selection practices; identification of overall skills profile; investment in training and development; and anticipation of supply and demand. HRP ensures that people (human capital) are available for the smooth running of the state in every department and for every work or activity and assess the country’s position in terms of demand and supply of human resources in view of the changing circumstances. It matches the demand and the supply of all human resources geared towards fulfilling the country’s development agenda.
STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE PLANNING
Strategy is a means to an end i.e. a plan, policy, course of action, approach, and tactic, line of attack, manner, method, mode or practice used regularly to attain a goal. It is also a means to succeed. The concept of strategy is defined by Johnson and Scholes (1993) as: ‘the direction and scope of the organization over the longer term, which ideally matches its resources to its changing environment and in particular, its markets, customers, and clients to meet stakeholder expectations’. The strategic management process involves the Visioning and developing a mission statement, setting objectives, crafting a strategy to achieve the performance objectives, implementing and executing the strategy evaluating performance, reviewing the situation and initiating corrective adjustments.
SHRP is an integrated approach of ensuring that plans and decisions regarding human resource requirements of the organization are carefully matched with both short term and long term business strategy. A business strategy should take the changing environment and how its affects the future performance of the organization. The benefits of strategic approach to managing human resources provides better guidance to the entire nation to the crucial issue of what the government is trying to do and how to do it. It makes government more alert to the winds of change, new opportunities and threatening developments and provides technocrats with a rationale to evaluate competing budget requests from various sectors of the economy. It also helps to unify the numerous government strategies and creates a more proactive management and counter acting tendencies for decisions to be reactive and defensive.
Factors that may have an impact on strategic human resource planning:
Political instability- it leads to migration of productive and most needed labor force ( brain drain), capital flight, inequality of incomes etc
Taxation- tax evasion, tax avoidance
Demographic factors i.e. changes in population structure.
Structure of the population.
Technological changes.
Rules and regulation on employment.
Mechanization of production.
Globalization has an impact /bearing on competitiveness.
Privatization.
Public service Divestiture Reform Program.
Assessing current Human Resources
The major concern of manpower planning is to make effective use of people through proper forecasting of the right number and kind of people required. Conducting an analysis of the present position of Uganda’s human resource, which documents the number of workers, their skills and experience is essential. Currently it is very difficult to get reliable data on all human resources in the country. What seems to be the norm is to make rough estimates about categories of persons and the skills they hold. With modern technology, the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is utilized to generate this information. Internal analysis is best accomplished through job analysis which comprises of three major components i.e. job description, person specifications and job evaluation. A good job analysis is helpful in identifying the kinds of individuals government needs most or those that are most relevant according to prevailing needs. Government should provide guidance for decisions about training, career development to avoid people training in irrelevant courses that hardly have impact on its programmes. HRP analysis would help government to answer the “where are we and where do we want to go?” question in terms of the HR needs through human resource inventories. We have to match HR to the future requirements of the country and ensure the availability of distinctive capabilities and competences of the various cadres in different crucial fields
Technology with which international companies are producing their goods and services are rapidly changing. And this has a direct impact on Uganda’s human resources and development in general. Improved technology may require fewer people to do the job that has previously been done by many people. As a result, the demand for manpower may greatly reduce. Those with skills that are not very relevant may be laid off. In addition Ugandans must appreciate the essence of productivity. Employee productivity refers to the output per man-hour. If the employee productivity is high, it means that fewer people are producing more output. Companies would therefore require fewer individuals to produce the required output levels hence cutting costs. They must as well be punctual and desist from absenting themselves from work. Government must develop policies and methods of forecasting by using ratio trend analysis and simple arithmetic formula to arrive at desired human resource requirements for the whole country. It should also develop standards for numbers and levels of employees that are needed to do certain work by estimating the manpower demands based on past experiences and on a comprehensive national manpower and human resource plan.
Manpower Requirements
The balance between the outcomes of supply and demand forecasting determines future manpower requirements. This however, should be interpreted in line with future government development plans, depending on its priorities. The diagram below illustrates how government can ably implement simple but achievable versatile human resources through planning.
IMPLEMENTATION OF HRP (Manpower action Planning)
Rigorous HR planning links people management to the organization's mission, vision, goals and objectives, as well as its strategic plan and budgetary resources. A key goal of HR planning is to get the right number of people with the right skills, experience and competencies in the right jobs at the right time at the right cost. Implementation of the HRP is the final stage of the traditional HRP process. It is also considers the evaluation of the overall effectiveness. Implementation of plans involves consulting various stakeholders on what they think could be the manpower deficits and how they can adequately be addressed. The resource gaps identified become the leading determinants in meeting human resource targets. The main plan is he HRD plan under which, interest is put on: the number of people required for particular jobs and the programme for training them. There is also need to develop a control plan which relates the extent to which the planning process has contributed to the effective and efficient utilization of human resources and ultimately to the achievement of national objectives. Therefore the control plan will set out monitoring procedures to ensure that the targets set are achieved.
Conclusion
In conclusion there is need for government to determine human resource needs, establish human resource management policy, undertake Human Resource Development and make national development analysis to stay ahead of the ever changing global dynamics that in most cases have direct effects on our economy. Emphasis must be put to higher education, specifically at University level by dedicating more resources especially in the area of research. Development can never be achieved by chance. It has to be through deliberate well-defined programmes, executed through carefully thought-through planning. A country’s manpower largely determines its level of development. No country has ever developed throughout human history without investing in its human resources and in high quality education for its citizens. Uganda will not be the exception of this rule.
1 comment:
Mr. Stewart, could you send me the link to the Johnson and Scholes (1993) paper, please? Thank you.
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