HRD3702 - Exam Notes & Exam Summary

STRATEGIC BUSINESS PLANNING  Strategic business planning involves a plan that indicates how an organisation will compete in order to be successful  A plan that should indicate where the organisation is going over the medium to long term & what needs to be done to be successful  It requires consideration of the organisation’s present strengths & weaknesses & future threats & opportunities  SBP is usually top management’s chief concern & the highest priority of senior managers in the organisation The steps in strategic business planning Strategic Human Resources Development is geared to the strategic business plan & to help implement the HR strategy by improving knowledge & skills of employees of the organisation &/or knowledge & efficiency levels of interest groups outside the organisation HRD strategy is defined as the pattern of planned & unfolding activities that focuses on development capabilities to achieve current & future strategic objectives HRD is seen as planned & unfolding & HRD makes the achievement of business strategy possible HRD strategy development capabilities that are needed to deliver on current & future business strategies Strategic business planning is a cyclical process consisting of various phases: 1 Clarify the purpose – what is the purpose of the organisation & what should it be? 2 Select goals & objectives – what is the organisation trying to achieve? 3 Identify present strengths & weaknesses – what is the organisation doing well & what is it not doing well? 4 Analyse future threats & opportunities – what opportunities or threats will there be in the future? 5 Compare present S&W with future T&O – how can the organisation take advantage of future O & avert future T posed by the external environment considering its present internal S&W? 6 Decide on a long-term strategy – what should the long strategy be in order to take full advantage of O & aver the Ts posed by the environment? 7 Implement strategy – what changes need to be made so that the chosen strategy can be pursued with the greatest chance of success? 8 Evaluate strategy – how well do decision makers think the strategy will work & how well is it working? A strategic plan is a proactive attempt to anticipate & select the best opportunities in a corporate environment, thereby making the best business decision & resulting in success for the enterprise Managers or directors make these decisions or choices, decide on the strategy that they will implement after determining the outcomes & goals & drawing up the necessary policy Strategic Training and Development The process of changing an organisation, stakeholders outside it, groups inside it and people employed by it, through planned learning so that they possess the knowledge and skills needed for the future. Key assumptions of SHRD 1. There should be an overall purpose statement for the organisation and the HRD effort should be related to it 2. Every major plan of the organisation should be weighed in terms of human skills available to implement it and alternative ways of obtaining those skills 3. People at all levels in the organisation’s chain of command should share responsibility and accountability for HRD HRD3702 Page 1 of 30 4. There should be a formal, systematic and holistic planning process for the organisation, HR department and HRD. Study Unit 2 A model for SHRD 1 The purpose of the HRD effort The purpose statement must relate to the organisation’s purpose or mission as reflected in the strategic business plan A purpose statement that is based on these guidelines clarifies what HRD is supposed to do, & why It makes explicit how HRD contributes to the organisation’s purpose & helps to guide operations keeping HRD practitioners & other operating manager on track Question that could clarify the purpose of the HRD effort & assist in determining priorities:  What purpose does HRD seek to attain inside/outside the organisation  What part of this purpose is the responsibility of the HRD department, supervisors, learners  What is known about learners, how can they be classified, how can this classification scheme be used in planning instructions  How are HRD activities currently benefiting the organisation, how should they benefit the organisation  How are HRD activities currently meeting learner needs, how should they meet learner needs in the future  What is the organisation’s present philosophy about HRD, what should that philosophy be in the future Without a purpose, HRD practitioners may embark upon & successfully complete projects but may never know how they are contributing to organisational goals or improving job performance It is important that HRD practitioners clarify the purpose of the HRD effort in the organisation & ensure it’s aligned with the broad business strategies Examples of purpose statement for HRD:  To provide training & development programmes that will improve productivity & support the strategic vision of the enterprise  To anticipate changing conditions & provide training & development programmes to help employees cope with change  To establish a series of programmes & courses that management can access to ensure that employees can do their jobs 2 Needs assessment The starting point for planning all organized learning evens in an organisation is a comprehensive needs assessment defined as a broad systematic examination of conditions conducted for purpose of identifying general dif