NEED IN 6 HOURS! - 300-words total - Business Management Course
Discussion Questions What are the key obstacles faced by the HRD function in ‘exporting’ HRD programmes to overseas subsidiaries?
Should organisations be seeking to impose a single culture across all these global business units?
What types of cost‐efficiencies can be derived from cross‐cultural standardisation?
What key facets should an internationalisation strategy possess?
Chapter 15: HRD at the Community & Societal Level
DR. DAVID MCGUIRE EDINBURGH NAPIER UNIVERSITY
Chapter Objectives
Examine the social responsibilities of organisations and how HRD can contribute to corporate social responsibility approaches
Outline ethical principles affecting the field of HRD and how HRD practitioners act and behave
Examine the role of HRD in developing communities and society.
Chapter Context It is increasingly recognised that HRD performs an important role at the community and societal level. Beyond narrow organisational interests, HRD embraces a broader agenda of building and growing the capacity of individuals, groups and communities
HRD at the community and societal level stresses the importance of acting responsibly and in an ethical manner and in doing so embraces a social justice agenda. HRD practitioners have a professional duty to act in an ethical manner – to act in a fair and honest fashion and observe the rights, dignity and welfare of others.
HRD and Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate Social Responsibility is defined by Archie Carroll (1979) as “The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary expectations that society has of organisations at a given point in time.”
Imbuing organisations with a social conscience extends organisational responsibility beyond mere profit‐and‐loss accounts and looks at how the actions and values of the organisation are aligned with those of society.
Whilst the field of HRD has expressed increasing levels of interest in ethics, integrity and sustainability, allied with a growth in critical HRD literature a narrow profit‐performance paradigm still pervades much research and thinking in HRD.
HRD and Corporate Social Responsibility
Wilcox (2006: 187) articulates a view of corporations as ‘moral communities’ based upon the cooperative relationships of its members. She uses this view to argue that the global economic system, through the actions of individual corporations, has been responsible for unequal wealth distribution and social injustice, leading to the marginalisation and exploitation of developing countries by more advanced nations.
Barriers to implementing CSR in organisations include: ◦ There was often a lack of knowledge and awareness about CSR issues and the underpinning rationale for engaging in these activities.
◦ A disconnect is observed by employees between CSR approaches and organisational values and strategies
◦ CSR is viewed as too costly, time‐consuming & divorced from business goals.
HRD and Ethics Doran (2005: 36) argues that ‘more than any time in history, HRD professionals have a responsibility and an opportunity to make a positive contribution to ethical practice in business
Hatcher (2002) asserts that HRD professionals have a responsibility for leading and managing ethics in organisations
Foote and Ruona (2008) argue that HRD professionals possess many of the necessary skills needed to promote ethical behaviour in organisations: namely, the ability to facilitate formal and informal meetings; the ability to build consensus; the ability to provide educational and training experiences; the ability to listen and communicate well; and the ability to assess the ethical implications of different situations .
HRD and Ethics In 1999, the AHRD produced a set of standards on ethics and integrity articulating six general principles:
Competence: HRD professionals should seek to achieve personal mastery in their work, whilst recognising the boundaries and limitations of their own individual expertise and experience.
Integrity: This standard expects HRD professionals to act fairly, honestly and respectfully in their dealings with others.
Professional responsibility: HRD practitioners are expected to take professional responsibility for their behaviour and adapt their methods and techniques to suit the needs of different groups of participants.
HRD and Ethics Respect for people’s rights and dignity: HRD professionals must fully observe and accord individuals their rights and dignity. Confidentiality, privacy, anonymity and autonomy must be adhered to and unfair discriminatory practices must not be engaged in.
Concern for others’ welfare: HRD practitioners must be sensitive in their dealings with others and act in a responsible manner that avoids injury and harm to others.
Social responsibility: HRD practitioners have a responsibility to the community, society and planet in which we live. As such, they must be committed to delivering a more sustainable future and working in the best interests of their client, the public and society at large.
Ethical Issues in HRD Russ‐Eft and Hatcher (2003) identified three key ethical areas affecting the field of HRD: Striving to create humane workplaces: HRD practitioners should serve as the conscience of the organisation, advocating and modelling organisational practices that respect the individual and support a humane workplace in times of stability and change. Developing a sense of social responsibility: HRD has an important role in creating systems and processes to support individual, organisational, community, national and global well‐being. Embracing globalisation: HRD plays a key role in fostering creativity, productivity and learning, and promoting a tolerance of differing cultures in the workplace
Vocational Education and Training
To achieve competitive advantage at a national level, countries need to recognise the importance of investing in and developing a strong educational infrastructure. Human capital development is critical in achieving a range of community and societal goals, including reducing poverty and injustice and improving social mobility, health and human rights (Kim, 2012).
Stewart and Rigg (2011: 42) define VET as ‘referring primarily to public policy aimed at improving international, national, organisational and individual skills as a means of improving economic performance at those same levels’.
Vocational Education and Training
The critical importance of VET is articulated well by Thurow (1994: 52) when he states:
“Show me a skilled individual, a skilled company or a skilled country and I will show you an individual, a company or a country that has a chance to be successful. Show me an unskilled individual, company or country and I will show you a failure in the 21st Century. In the economy ahead, there is only one source of competitive advantage: skills. Everything else is available to everyone on a more or less equal access basis. “
HRD and Human Development Kuchinke (2010) argues that there are four values of human development, namely ◦ Humanitarianism ◦ Utilitarianism ◦ Equity ◦ Human Rights
He argues that if the ideal of human flourishing is to be achieved, then the field of HRD will need to take a more all‐embracing, holistic view of development, where well‐being embraces social, political and spiritual dimensions
Models of National HRD Both Cho and McLean (2004) and Lynham and Cunningham (2006) identify five key models of national HRD: ◦ The Centralised Model: A top‐down, state‐driven approach to education, where formulation, planning, implementation and assessment take place through the actions of central government.
◦ The Transitional Model: A social partnership approach whereby government, employers and trade unions agree a coordinated approach to educational, economic and social development
◦ The Government‐Initiated Model: A stakeholder approach, where educational policy is decided through representation from employers, community groups, educational bodies, employee representatives.
◦ The Decentralised/Free‐Market Model: Responsibility for development to the private sector with the state providing indirect financial support.
◦ The Small‐Nation Model: Driven by the need to achieve regional competitiveness and involves collaboration of small communities
Conclusion HRD has an important role to play in shaping the well‐being and vitality of communities and nations. The values and philosophy of HRD at the community and societal level are distinctive from organisational imperatives of profitability and productivity and emphasise human flourishing and growth.
For HRD to be sustainable in the long term, it is critical that HRD practitioners act and behave in an ethical manner.
HRD practitioners must act with integrity, display competence in their work, respect the rights and dignity of others, take professional responsibility for their behaviour, show concern for the welfare of others and behave in a socially responsible manner
Discussion Questions How can organisations be convinced of the virtues of CSR beyond mere charitable giving?
Should ethics be included as a compulsory module on HRD programmes?
Are HRD practitioners the moral conscience of the organisation?
Comment on the statement made by Harbison and Myers (1964: 13) that ‘if a country is unable to develop its human resources, it cannot develop much else’.