strategic human resource development

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SEMINARS ON STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT Level: MSMS Discussion 1 06-09-2012 Dr. Sajid Hussain Awan, Program Manager MSMS

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Seminars on Strategic Human resoruce Development

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Page 1: Strategic Human Resource Development

SEMINARS ON STRATEGIC HUMAN

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Level: MSMS

Discussion 1

06-09-2012

Dr. Sajid Hussain Awan, Program Manager MSMS

Page 2: Strategic Human Resource Development

Outline

HRD, SHRM, SHRD Defined

SHRD aims

HRD Philosophy

Elements of HRD

What not is HRD?

HRD in Transition

Gaps in the Literature

Past approaches

The Duet, Trio, Quartet & Orchestra

Leadership dimension

Summary

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HRD Defined

Human resource development is a series of organized activities, conducted within a specialized time and designed to produce behavioral changes (Nadler, 1969; 1986).

HRD is a set of systematic and planned activities designed by an organization to impart its members necessary skills to meet current and future job demands. HRD activities begin when an employee joins an organization and continue throughout his/her career, regardless of the employee‟s status (Desimone, Werner, & Harris, 2002).

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HRD…

HRD interventions are aimed at employee development.

Employee development through skills training and

development programs initiated by organizations

recognize the need to keep employees abreast of

technological and social changes to sustain a competent

and productive workforce (Jinabhai, 2005).

HRD plans and measures for training employees from

disadvantaged groups (Horwitz, 1999).

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Why HRD?

An organization is only as good as its people. An

important and effective part of its organizational

strategy is to compete with the challenges presented by

a fast-paced, highly dynamic and increasingly global

economy.

To achieve this end, organizations of all types and sizes

must employ competent and motivated workers. Their

organizational strategy must include training and

development (T&D) and employee education (Desimone

et al., 2002).

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Strategic HRM defined

Strategic HRM is concerned with „seeing the people of the organization as a strategic resource for the achievement of competitive advantage‟ (Hendry & Pettigrew, 1986).

SHRM is a process that involves the use of holistic approachesto the development of HR strategies, which are integrated vertically with the business strategy and horizontally with one another.

These strategies define intentions and plans related to overall organizational considerations, such as organizational effectiveness, and to more specific aspects of people management, such as resourcing, learning and development, reward and employee relations.

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SHRM…

Strategic HRM defines the organization‟s intentions and

plans on how its business goals should be achieved

through people. It is based on three propositions:

First, that human capital is a major source of

competitive advantage;

Second, that it is people who implement the strategic

plan; and,

Third, that a systematic approach should be adopted

to defining where the organization wants to go and

how it should get there.

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Strategic HRD defined

Walton (1999) defines SHRD as follows:

“Strategic human resource development involves

introducing, eliminating, modifying, directing, and

guiding processes in such a way that all individuals and

teams are equipped with the skills, knowledge and

competences they require to undertake current and

future tasks required by the organization.”

SHRD provides the capacity to enhance individual

abilities and competencies as a necessary requirement

for effective performance.

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SHRD…

Strategic HRD is „development that arises from a clear vision

about people‟s abilities and potential and operates within

the overall strategic framework of the business (Harrison,

2000).‟

SHRD takes a broad and long-term view about how HRD

policies and practices can support the achievement of

business strategies.

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SHRD…10

SHRD is business led, and the learning and development

strategies that are established as part of the overall SHRD

approach flow from business strategies, although they have

a positive role in helping to ensure that the business attains

its goals.

Bergenhenegouwen, Mooijman and Tilleman (1992)

describe SHRD as “training members of an organization in

such a way that they have the knowledge and skills needed

within the context of the (changing) objectives of an

organization.”

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SHRD aims

SHRD aims to produce a coherent and comprehensive

framework for developing people through the creation of a

learning culture and the formulation of organizational and

individual learning strategies.

Its objective is to enhance resource capability in accordance

with the belief that a firm‟s human resources are a major

source of competitive advantage.

It is therefore about developing the intellectual capital

required by the organization as well as ensuring that the right

quality of people are available to meet present and future

needs.

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SHRD aims…

12

The main thrust is to provide an environment in which

people are encouraged to learn and develop.

Although SHRD is business led, its specific strategies

have to take into account individual aspirations and

needs.

SHRD envisages the importance of increasing

employability outside as well as within the organization

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SHRD & SHRM

Strategic HRD policies are closely associated with that aspect of

strategic HRM that is concerned with investing in people and

developing the organization‟s human capital.

SHRM is aligning people with the strategy of the organization. As

Keep (1989) says:

“One of the primary objectives of HRM is the creation of conditions

whereby the latent potential of employees will be realized and their

commitment to the causes of the organization secured.”

This latent potential is taken to include, not merely the capacity to

acquire and utilize new skills and knowledge, but also a hitherto

untapped wealth of ideas about how the organization‟s operations

might be better ordered.

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HRD philosophy

The philosophy underpinning HRD is as follows:

HRD makes a major contribution to the successful attainment

of the organization‟s objectives, and investment in it benefits

all the stakeholders of the organization.

HRD plans and programs should be integrated with and

support the achievement of business and human resource

strategies.

HRD should always be performance related – designed to

achieve specified improvements in corporate, functional, team

and individual performance and make a major contribution

to bottom-line results.

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HRD philosophy…

15

Everyone in the organization should be encouraged and given

the opportunity to learn – to develop their skills and

knowledge to the maximum of their capacity.

The framework for individual learning is provided by personal

development plans that focus on self-managed learning and

are supported by coaching, mentoring and formal training.

The organization needs to invest in learning and development

by providing appropriate learning opportunities and facilities,

but the prime responsibility for learning and development rests

with individuals, who will be given the guidance and support

of their managers and, as necessary, members of the HR

department.

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HRD philosophy…16

Everyone in the organization should be encouraged and given the opportunity to learn – to develop their skills and knowledge to the maximum of their capacity.

The framework for individual learning is provided by personal development plans that focus on self-managed learning and are supported by coaching, mentoring and formal training.

The organization needs to invest in learning and development by providing appropriate learning opportunities and facilities, but the prime responsibility for learning and development rests with individuals, who will be given the guidance and support of their managers and, as necessary, members of the HR department.

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Elements of HRD

The key elements of HRD are:

Learning – defined by Bass and Vaughan (1966) as „a

relatively permanent change in behavior that occurs as a

result of practice or experience‟.

As Kolb (1984) describes it, “Learning is the major process of

human adaptation.”

Training – the planned and systematic modification of

behavior through learning events, programs and instruction

that enable individuals to achieve the levels of knowledge,

skills and competence needed to carry out their work

effectively.

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Elements of HRD…18

Development – the growth or realization of a

person‟s ability and potential through the

provision of learning and educational

experiences.

Education – the development of the knowledge,

values and understanding required in all aspects

of life rather than the knowledge and skills

relating to particular areas of activity.

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Learning & training

Learning should be distinguished from training.

„Learning is the process by which a person

constructs new knowledge, skills and capabilities,

whereas training is one of several responses an

organization can undertake to promote learning‟

(Reynolds et al., 2002).

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SHRD redefined

SHRD is a method in terms of which learning or

the performing of knowledge processes ( creation,

sharing and use of knowledge) relating to the

emergent strategic orientation of companies is

made possible.

It focuses on the development of the skills that

executives, managers and employees may require/need

in future and is proactive in nature.

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What not is HRD?

HRD is often defined as being merely the training and development aspect of human resource management and this form of definition is commonly associated with “hard” forms of HRD which focus on the practical and strategic or “structured” elements of organizational functioning.

Horwitz, Bowmaker-Falconer & Searll (1996) maintain that a difficulty with HRD lies not only with the lack of equality of opportunity for acquiring technical and managerial skills but also with the individual need for obtaining life skills and increased self-confidence.

However, it is change, and especially the rate at which change occurs, that largely influences the HRD hybrid that any organization adopts.

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HRD in Transition

Some researchers have traced HRD through four key phases: the “Duet”, the “Trio”, the “Quartet”, and concluding with the “Orchestra” and a holistic definition of HRD.

HRD is a combination of structured and unstructured learning and performance-based activities which develop individual and organizational competency, capability and capacity to cope with and successfully manage change.

The future of HRD now lies squarely in the need for the profession to consider and embrace the inextricably interrelated paradigms of movement (where people have developed from); change (and especially the rate of change); dynamism (provided from leadership); harmony and unity (resulting from cohesive partnerships) – the “Orchestra”.

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Gaps in the Literature

There has been limited critical review and development of Human Resource Development (HRD) theory in the past two decades.

We need to see in it sequentially to find chronological development.

However contemporary HRD involves a holistic approach involving both hard and soft elements – an “Orchestra”.

There has been limited critical review and development of HRD theory in the past two decades. In particular, since the inception of the term HRD, there has been a dichotomous approach developed to HRD.

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Gaps …

The British have pursued a learning and development paradigm which

focused on enhanced training and development genre‟s (Garavan et al.,

1999).

While the Americans pursued a performance outcomes paradigm which

focused on developing individuals to enhance organizational performance

outcomes (Swanson & Holton, 2001).

Much of the American approach emerged through organizational

development theory and there has been an emphasis on coaching, mentoring

and leadership development (Desimone et al., 2002).

The dichotomous approach to HRD was further obscured by the evolution of

Strategic HRM and Strategic HRD (Walton, 1999) and attempts to clarify the

space that HRD occupies in the overall riddle of “what is HRM?” (Stewart and

McGoldrick, 1996; Sofo, 1999).

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Gaps…

It is change, and especially the rate at which change occurs, that largely influences the HRD hybrid that any organization adopts.

We need to see that “HRD is a combination of structured and unstructured learning and performance based activities which develop individual and organizational competency, capability and capacity to cope with and successfully manage change.”

HRD now lies squarely in the need for the profession to embrace fully the inextricably interrelated paradigms of movement, change, dynamism, harmony and unity.

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Past approaches

In the past, HRD was often polarized by authors as being

focused primarily on either performance or learning.

For example, whilst investigating an innovative scheme of

tandem management (know-how transfer) to develop Czech

managers by their German counterparts, Gutmann (1995)

identified a joint learning process in what she termed the steps

towards integration.

In tandem management, key positions are filled by an

expatriate German manager and a local Czech manager for

a limited period of time, usually three years.

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Past approaches…27

During this period, the German manager‟s task is to

develop the professional and managerial skills of their

local partner and thus enable them to manage their

department independently.

They act, therefore, as a coach and a knowledge

mediator (Gutmann, 1995).

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Tandem management28

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Past approaches…

Outside of Europe, Yang (1994) analyzed the relationship

between production systems in the US and Japan and the

corresponding HRM system and practices and asserted that

HRM practices are functions of the prevailing production

system.

In the US case, for instance, the widespread scientific

management principles, together with Taylorist production

systems, tend to create a highly functional and job-oriented

HRM system.

Yang (1994) claims that a job-focused personnel system

prevents US firms from achieving success in improving product

quality at source.

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Past approaches…

By comparison, the flexible production model in large

Japanese plants tends to be highly integrated with team-

based HRM principles.

Yang (1994) concludes by illustrating how Japanese-owned

plants operating in the USA have integrated the process-

based quality programs with team-oriented HRM policies and

practice.

These flexible HRM systems, based on “kaizen” principles,

contribute to the Japanese success in assuring product quality

throughout the production process. Team-oriented HRM

practices are a precondition for success of a process-based

total quality management approach.

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Past approaches…

Yang (1994) quotes one HR manager as saying:

We‟re looking for someone who can do that but somebody who

also has potential. Somebody who learns well. If somebody comes

in here and has some basic skills but they are constantly learning,

constantly growing and developing, they become more valuable.

Once they learn our product they learn how to do other parts of

our product without as much training.

We don‟t want someone who comes in and operates just one

machine and that‟s all they can do.

We are not looking for that type of person. We are looking for

someone who‟s got some flexibility because of the product we

produce.

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Past approaches…

Dodds and Verest (2002) provide a practical case

illustration of the development and implementation of Web-

based induction training in an international financial

services company founded in The Netherlands.

In the context of continuing growth and change, helping new

employees to swiftly integrate into the company is seen as

being critically important. They show how the power and

capabilities of the company intranet are applied to support

the induction process.

The design of the induction training is examined from the

perspective of the Lancaster learning model.

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Past approaches…

Dodds and Verest (2002) comment: “Reg Revans, in his Action Learning gospel, stated that „the rate of learning should be equal to or greater than the rate of change in an organization‟”.

If technology is influencing and increasing the rate of change in organizations, then it may need to become an essential component of training and development, to ensure that the rate of learning keeps pace with change and that the organizations flourish and compete effectively.

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Past approaches…

Providing a further European perspective, Buyens

et al. (2001) stress the learning-related aspects of

HRD:

The new role of an HRD practitioner will be that of a

strategic learning facilitator, performance consultant or

even change agent . . . The way in which management

supports staff in learning could also become an issue in

performance appraisals and management career

planning.

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Past approaches…

Buyens et al. (2001) adopt the earlier approach of

Sambrook and Stewart (2000) to depict the way in

which the development towards a learning

organization has an impact on the relationship

between work and learning.

Whereas learning used to be synonymous with

training, it has now become associated with learning

from experience and self-directed learning. This is

necessary in order to cope with changing demands in

the organizational environment.

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Past approaches…

Similarly, learning is no longer regarded solely as a classroom activity. This changing view of learning has far-reaching consequences for line managers, who are expected to manage the workplace as a place fit for learning.

In addition, this move has an impact upon employees who are now expected to take greater responsibility for their own learning.

Finally, it greatly affects the role and tasks of HRD professionals, who are involved in planning and designing learning activities for the whole organization.

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Past approaches…

Coulson-Thomas (2000) surveyed the corporate learning

plans and priorities of 69 organizations in Belgium,

Britain, Germany and Greece.

He found that many courses were excessively general in

nature, and that they failed to address specific

requirements. He discovered that opportunities for

collaboration were being missed. In many companies,

training and development was seen as a cost, although

they could provide the basis for generating new income

streams, and become a significant profit centre in their

own right.

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Past approaches…

Coulson-Thomas (2003) later asserted that successful and unsuccessful companies adopt very different ways of managing change.

He considered that learning, T&D activities should address the root causes of unsuccessful methods and focus upon more profitable approaches.

He claims that accomplishment in training and learning is directly related to the number of critical success factors that are put in place.

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Past approaches…

Garavan (2002) and his colleagues in Ireland identified a paradigm shift from formalized, intermittent and discontinuous learning to increasingly informal, experiential, asynchronous and real-time situated learning.

They highlighted three contemporary themes in both the workplace learning and HRD literatures, namely:

knowledge, expertise, competence and capability; organizational learning; and employability and career issues.

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Past approaches…

Smith (2004b) concludes by showing that the contribution of HRD to achieving effective organizational change falls into three broad areas:

1. creating an organizational environment that is supportive of learning and development;

2. developing and sustaining in employees an individual orientation towards learning and skills growth; and

3. providing staff with the direct skills and knowledge required for working in the changed environment.

It can be seen that the dichotomous pairs of learning/ performance and structured/unstructured are ineffective in their extreme forms but will work well together as a combination, the formula of this combination varying from organization to organization.

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The “Duet”

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The “Trio”

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The “Trio”

The relationship between HRD and change is

developed further, once the integral nature of work to

both performance and learning is recognized.

As Clyde (2003) points out, recruiting new talent

would not result in lasting and significant change.

She asserts that it is effective continuing professional

development that is most likely to be an agent for

change.

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The “Trio”…

At the micro level, the integration of work, learning and performance is highlighted by King (2003) who illustrates the point by looking at the outcomes of secondment as a learning strategy.

At the macro level, Tosey and Robinson (2002) offer a useful typology of change and organizational transformation.

Significantly, they point to the importance of spiritual development as being central to both the process and product of workplace change at both the individual and organizational levels.

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The “Quartet”

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The “Quartet”

A significant addition to the exploration of learning at work came when authors tackled the apex of quality.

Large-scale programs such as total quality management, business process re-engineering, six sigma, and others seem characterized by a need to be more competitive or more efficient; a focus on changing behavior; and a highly programmed, usually expert-led, method leading towards transformation as a “product” (Tosey and Robinson, 2002).

An innovative “tandem training” approach between Volkswagen and Skoda, illustrated by Gutmann (1995), was embedded in an integrated management qualification program.

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From program to process

This importance of quality management to the whole scheme

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The efficient manager48

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Quality concerns

Meanwhile in the UK, quality function deployment aims to represent the voice of the customer during design and production of products and services, while customer satisfaction surveys provide measures of conformity to performance standards in service delivery, which should be set by the customers themselves (Varey, 1995).

In Japan, Yang (1994) argues that the process-based total quality mechanism is inseparable from its team-based human resource management practices, whereas in the US, the absence of modifying the highly specialized and job-focused employment system means it is difficult to carry out successfully a process-based quality control program at the plant level.

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Interdisciplinary linkages

Varey (1995) highlights a number of writers who

have anticipated a convergence of HRM,

organizational development, marketing and quality

management in describing internal marketing in

terms traditionally associated with the domain of

the human resources specialist, including training,

recruitment, motivation, and reward.

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The “Orchestra”

As the following analogy with an orchestra demonstrates, so too with learning:

As members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra (London, 2002) arrive for rehearsal, you would not think anything out of the ordinary. The usual numbers of musicians are gathering, and there is the usual banter as they take their places and start to tune up. It is only when the practice begins that you notice what is missing – there is no conductor. Instead, representatives from each section of the group are selected who collectively decide upon interpretation, phrasing, and all the other minute musical aspects that make a symphony more than just a bunch of notes on a manuscript.

Every member contributes to ideas during rehearsals and any unresolved matters are put to the vote . . . While the rehearsal gets going, you may be wondering what has this got to do with management? Quite a lot, according to numerous corporations (including MBA classes) who regularly attend rehearsals and workshops in order to observe this process. Why? Self-managed teams are no longer a novelty, however successful self-managed teams are much harder to find.

The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra seems to have overcome the obstacles normally associated with such an entity. It has won four Grammy awards and has been performing for over 30 years. What is more, in a profession notorious for low morale and discontent, members appear to be happy – the average tenure is a staggering 20 years.

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Critique of teaming

Robbins and Finley (1995) think the main problem is lack of vision rather than a clash of personalities.

Senior managers have got where they are today through the very opposite means of team working and are not practiced in sharing their thoughts and aims.

Finley (2002) believes that CEOs generally do not have the time for teams because they are not instantly good at them.

Teaming is a skill that must be learned, yet few CEOs have the time (or the inclination) to do this. But senior management must know what being in a team really means, not just what it is like to promote the value of teamwork to other employees.

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Leadership dimension

Manning and Robertson (2002) describe the background behind

the development of a new leadership self-assessment tool, the

dynamic leader inventory, and how the authors were able to

confirm much current thinking on visionary leadership.

They found leadership situations were enormously variable - what

was appropriate behavior in terms of visionary leadership varied

from one situation to another, particularly with respect to the

leader‟s influence over others, and their influence over change.

This led to the development of a new model of leadership, the

dynamic leader, which builds on, but goes beyond, the visionary

model.

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Leadership dimension…

Manning and Robertson (2002) also suggest there are five facets

of “visionary” leadership:

1. Communicating a compelling vision;

2. Kaleidoscope thinking, based upon being tuned into the wider

environment, the source of the vision;

3. Macro issues: networking, team-working and promoting a

culture of excellence;

4. Interpersonal issues: two-way communication, people

orientation, participative style and high visibility; and

5. Personal traits, including positive self-regard, persistence,

perseverance and consistency.

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Leadership dimension…55

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Leadership dimension…

Meanwhile, in America, Noel and Dennehy (1991) contend that many companies are making significant strategic and organizational changes designed to make them more competitive in an increasingly global economy.

They see this as an exciting time, in which HRD can make a significant contribution.

HRD has been seen having a partnership role with senior management in change. HRD professionals must work with top management, focusing on the organization‟s strategic initiatives and to seek ways to leverage the development of employees to achieve these objectives in creative and impactful approaches.

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Summary

HRD hybrid (that is, a “duet”, a “trio” or a “quartet”) that any organization adopts.

It is apparent, after considering these discussions, that “HRD is a combination of structured and unstructured learning and performance based activities which develop individual and organizational competency, capability and capacity to cope with and successfully manage change.”

The future of HRD now lies squarely in the need for the profession to consider and embrace the inextricably interrelated paradigms of movement (where people have developed from); change (and especially the rate of change); dynamism (provided from leadership); harmony and unity (resulting from cohesive partnerships) – the “orchestra”.

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References

Avery, C. (1999). Challenges for management development in the

German-speaking nations for the twenty-first century. Journal of

Management Development, 18 (1), pp. 18-31.

Binsted, D. (1989). Learning to cope with change in the 80s.

Management Decision, 27(4).

Coulson-Thomas, C. (2000). Individuals and enterprise, winning

business in the new millennium. Industrial and Commercial Training.

32(1), pp. 4-8.

Desimone, R. L., Werner, J. M., & Harris, D. M. (2002). Human resource

development (3rd ed.). USA: Harcourt College.

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References…

Garavan, T.N., Gunnigle, P. & Morley, M. (2000). Contemporary HRD research: a

triarchy of theoretical perspectives and their prescriptions for HRD. Journal of

European Industrial Training. 24(2-4), pp. 65-93.

Jinabhai, D. C. (2005). New challenges for South African development and training –

linkages to empirical research. Public Personnel Management, 34 (1), 85.

McGoldrick, J. & Stewart, J. (1996). The HRM-HRD nexus in McGoldrick, J. and

Stewart, J. (Eds), Human Resource Development: Perspectives, Strategies and

Practice, Pitman Publishing, London, pp. 9-27.

Simmonds, D. & Pedersen, C. (2006). HRD: the shapes and things to come. Journal of

Workplace Learning, 18(2 ), pp. 122-135.

Storey, J. (1992). New Perspectives in Human Resource Management of Human

Resources. Blackwell, Oxford.

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To do list

Selection of a topic on SHRD for Literature review, 3000 words (Individual)

Forming of groups (2-3 members) for class assignment (10 Marks) and its presentation

Take a Research Paper on SHRD and critically analyze, submit draft (soft copy) and present

Mid-term Exam (30 Marks)

Presentation of Literature Review by student : Marks 15

Sit-in Exam: Marks 15

Book Chapter - group presentation (10 marks)

Final Exam (45 Marks)

Group (2-3 members)

Study of at least 3 organization for identifying SHRD needs

Organizing the literature review already done and revisiting the literature

Developing a framework (independent & dependent variables) for studying the identified problem (s)

Developing a design/methodology for data collection (interviews and questionnaires)

Analyzing the data, main findings, discussion of the results, conclusion and recommendations (25 marks)

Sit-in exams (20 marks)

Class participation 5 marks

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SEMINARS ON STRATEGIC HUMAN

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Level: MSMS

Discussion 2+3

20-09-2012

Dr. Sajid Hussain Awan, Program Manager MSMS

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Overview of SHRD: The roots

The argument for SHRD

Organization Development (OD)

Early 20th Century management and social science

approaches

Scientific management, Fordism and the elimination of

certainty

The problem of control and compliance

Organizational analysis as critique

SHRD as a critical theory

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Why SHRD?

The human resources of companies must be

developed in terms of the current and the emergent

strategic orientation of the company.

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The argument for SHRD

The method according to which executives, managers and employees are equipped in terms of the current strategic orientation is known as traditional HRD.

Whilst SHRD equips executives, managers and employees in terms of the emergent strategic orientation of the company.

Naturally, the nature and purpose of these two methods of HRD differ from one another, as do the processes used to give effect to these methods.

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The argument…

Therefore SHRD is a future-oriented method, is

proactive in nature, and employs strategic training

process to equip executives, managers and employees

to deal with the changing nature of performance

arising from the emergent strategic orientation of the

company.

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The strategic orientation of the company

The strategic orientation of companies arises from the

grand strategy of the company.

The grand strategy of the company contains a

statement of the activities in which the company is

currently involved in and will in future possibly become

involved in to ensure its continued competitiveness.

The strategic orientation of the company contains an

indication of the manner in which the company‟s grand

strategy is to be accomplished.

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Defining strategy

The word strategy originates from the Greek word strategia meaning generalship and is related to the science and art of warfare.

Today‟s organizational competition somehow qualifies to be called as warfare.

Strategy according to Johnson & Scholes (1993) is concerned with a number of dimensions:

The range of an organization‟s activities;

The matching of organization‟s activities to the environment;

The matching of organization‟s activities to available resources.

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Defining strategy…

Johnson & Scholes (1993) state that:

Strategy is the direction and scope of an

organization over the long term: ideally which

matches its resources to the changing environment,

and in particular its markets, customers or clients so as

to meet stakeholder expectations.

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Strategy…

Some more definitions of the concept “strategy” are:

“Strategy refers to the long-term plans developed by top management, usually for periods of two to ten years or even longer. These plans are used to evaluate and seize opportunities as well as to relocate resources.

Strategy includes “plans to create new products, to purchase other organizations, to sell unprofitable sections of the business, to make shares available, and to enter international markets”

(Nel et al., 2001:556).

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Strategy…

“Strategy in commercial terms is often associated

with deployment of resources, outflanking the

competition, establishing beachheads in the global

marketplace, and creating strategic alliances”

(Walton, 1999:14).

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Strategy…

“It is a declaration of intent that defines means to

achieve ends, and is concerned with the long-term

allocation of significant company resources and with

matching those resources and capabilities to the

external environment” (Armstrong, 2000:30).

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Strategy…

Armstrong (2000:112) is of the opinion that the strategy of the company gives an indication of three aspects, namely domain, structures and systems as well as performance standards.

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– Domain, structures & systems

In the definition by Armstrong (2000:112) the domain, structures and systems as well as performance standards have the following context:

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– Domain…

Domain refers to the “type of industry, market,

competitors, suppliers and, more generally, the

limitations and constraints facing their organization.”

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– Domain…

Structures and systems refer to the “choices made

about how centralized, standardized and specialized

an organization‟s activities will be.”

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– Domain…

Performance standards which “partly determine the

extent of flexibility an organization has within its

economic environment.”

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Strategy…

Thus, the strategy of a company and also the action plans to achieve the strategy, known as the strategic orientation of a company, should focus on the factors which are present in the strategic environment of companies currently as well as in the future.

Furthermore, the Cynefin framework for organizational sense- making indicates that these factors are divided amongst the known, knowable, complex and chaos domains in the strategic environment of companies.

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Strategy…

Each of the sense-making domains differs in terms of its characteristics and nature and thus influence the current and emergent strategic orientation of the company in a unique manner.

The manner in which the factors in each of the four domains influence the current and emergent strategic orientation of the company give rise to a variety of training needs by employees but more specifically executives and managers involved in strategic processes.

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SHRD Enables

The organization to respond to challenges and opportunities through the identification and delivery of HRD interventions.

Individuals, supervisors, line managers and top managers to be more informed of their roles and participate in HRD delivery.

Management to have operational guidelines which explain the reason for investment in HRD.

Information to be disseminated which explains the training, education and development and learning opportunities for employees.

A policy statement to explicitly describe the relationship between the objectives of the organization and the HRD functions.

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SHRD Enables…

A positive public relations awareness for new potential employees to know that skills deficiencies will be provided for.

The continuous assessment of L&D opportunities for its employees and thereby enabling them to advance their careers and support organizational growth.

Clearly specified objectives and targets that enable the HRD function to be evaluated against strategic requirements.

Policies which relate the HRD function to the other operating functions

Training, education, development and learning opportunities to have a coordinated role within a systematic process.

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SHRD applications

Although SHRD applies to all employees in the company, it is a process that is of fundamental importance to executives and managers involved in formulating and implementingthe strategic orientation of the company.

As expected, the executives and managers must ensure that the current, but especially the future strategic orientation of the company is translated in terms of skills which employees will need to ensure their effective performance in future.

The strategic training of employees commences with executives and managers communicating the emergent strategic orientation of the company to employees.

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SHRD roots

SHRD has emerged as the logical development of the OD tradition.

SHRD promotes a more enlightened, ethical and skills focused change management that puts HR back where they belong – at the forefront of the change agenda.

SHRD combines three things:

An awareness of the complexities of change management

A desire to rescue the concept of HRD from a mundane existence in the depths of training programs.

A new perspective which provides direction for the 21st

century.

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SHRD roots…

The objective is to develop pragmatic and proactive approach of the managers and the organization‟s members and to help them manage change, and contribute to the continual transformation of the organizations products and services.

The 21st century management needs to place learning at the forefront.

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21st century paradigm shift

Human resources are the strategic assets rather than the

cost.

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Organization development (OD)

Birth of the discipline dates back in the late 1950s.

OD technology in the1960s.

Theory of practice in the 70s (Harrison, 1970) through intervention strategies and team development.

Proliferation of training approaches to personal growth

and empowerment‟ through self-directed learning

(Harrison, 1972).

Visioning emerged in the1980s along with organizational

culture, systems thinking and quality management.

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OD…

It was through the articulation of the change agent‟s

values designed to facilitate visioning, organizational

learning and problem-solving in the interests of a

collaborative management of the organization‟s culture.

The greening of organizations with an idea of value-driven approaches and organization learning (Senge, 1990; Pedler et al., 1991).

Downsizing and BPR in the 1990s.

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OD…

Over the years, only psychological/behavioral and health perspective on OD has emerged.

Beckhard (1969: 9-10) defines OD as a:

„planned change effort‟ involving „systematic diagnosis‟ of the „total organization‟ that is „managed from the top‟ to increase the „organizational effectiveness and health‟ of the overall „system.‟

The definition reflects the functionalist thinking of the time.

OD has gone away from the social engineering approaches,

practiced largely by psychologists to enhance the techno-

managerial imperative of the Fordist period to managing

and developing organizations through empowerment (French

& Bell, 1995: 28).

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OD…

The second world war and the consequent production processes are believed to have caused a marked shift from positivist thinking to more of humanistic approach that uses action research as a mode of inquiry. The approach assumes an altruistic concern for people in organizations.

This gave birth to human relations approach with a focus on man‟s social needs and ways of meeting them to increase motivation and organization productivity.

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OD…

Teamwork originated from downsizing and restructuring.

Employees were to develop skills like decision-making, problem-solving, personal skills like listening, conflict resolution, negotiation and leadership.

The role of HRD professional was required to develop critical facilitation skills.

Merging relationship focused more on cross functionality aided with new technologies in the pursuit of new knowledge.

This new development has transformed HRD by minimizing the role of training department and refocusing on learning-thus personal development and management development.

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OD…

Another trend was learning and knowledge management to manage the growing complexity of performance and its standards, customers and clients at the center-stage, whereby employees need to be acquainted with the concepts of quality, benchmarking and continuous improvement.

Therefore HRD professional will be increasingly challenged by the need to develop skills of facilitation, action-learning, analysis and critical thinking.

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OD…

It is therefore the changing nature of work and the political, economic and social pressures upon organizations that are forcing them to: Develop and communicate new corporate strategies;

Upwardly develop new HR strategies and policies;

Involve employees at all levels in the change process;

Determine the most effective and efficient work processes;

Build teams with the capacity to learn and become self-managed; and

Develop individuals and encourage management development.

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Point to ponder!!

There still is a need to encourage and develop

ethical organizations in the pursuit of a better

future.

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Roots of SHRD - Organism, machine & economic

man

Behaviorism

Man as

machine

Methodological

Assumptions

Positivistic/

functional analysis

of man

Functionalism

Organism

Methodological

Assumptions

Positivistic study

of organizations

Scientific

management

Homo

economicus

Methodological

Assumptions

Pseudo science of

effort and control

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Functionalistic sociology

Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)

View of an organization as an organism in which

the analogy with biological systems provided a

useful vehicle for assessing the needs of the

organization.

Functionalism was developed to explain social and

organizational behavior.

Cultural lag between the technological system and

the behavioral system.

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Functionalistic paradigm

Assumptions:

The organization has a life of its own, above and beyond the sum of its members

The organization is best analyzed as a system of functionally inter-related parts

All organizations have needs which must be met

The act of organizing is based on a consensus about values and goals

That consensus itself emerges as a result of common interests

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Morgan (1986)

Salaries and wages

Safe and pleasant working environment

Pensions and health care plans

Job tenure

Carrier paths in organizations

Organization of work that permits interaction with colleagues

Social and sports facilities

Office or factory parties or outings

Creation of jobs with sense of achievement and autonomy

Work-related sense of identity

Feedback and recognition for good performance

Encouragement of complete commitment

The job becomes a major expressive dimension of life

Self actualization

Ego needs

Social needs

Security needs

Psychological

needs

Maslow’s (1965) hierarchy more sophisticatedly translated into an organizational context

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Fordism & Taylorism (1911)

A new way of organizing the world through a new type of control over supervision

Standardized products which were machined to a “T”

Every product or service was produced under the same philosophy

Both Ford and Taylor were followers of Greek rationalism reinvigorated by Descartes.

Rationalists believed that the human mind could discover the laws that governed the universe.

It was believed that discovery of such laws could lead to limitless material progress

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Fordism & Taylorism (1911)

Taylor assumed that once a law had been discovered, it was possible to write a rule for it.

This task eliminated uncertainty.

To him management should be a science with fixed principles.

The interests of the employer and the employees were inseparable

Workers feared greater output-fewer jobs.

Bad management resulted in workers going slow to protect themselves

Traditional ways of doing jobs were inefficient.

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Taylor‟s 4 principles of SM (1911)

1. The development of a true science of work

2. Scientific selection and training

3. Bringing together a science of work and the

trained man

4. The constant and intimate cooperation of

management and men

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Consequences

The incorporation of SM within the Fordist work

processes resulted into:

The separation of brainwork from manual work

The system controlled the man

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Modernism

The central guiding principle was rationality

(Max Weber, 1864-1920)

Modernity- a machine culture

The increasingly complex organizations under the monopoly capitalism of the 20th century required sophisticated administrative controls.

Military thinking and concepts added (planning, coordinating and controlling) infused with appropriate language (chain of command, lines of communication, leadership, strategic management and strategic planning, authority, delegation, management by objectives, operations management, and mission statement).

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Modernism…

The managers were officers corps and the workers were troops.

Modernity was characterized by bureaucratic structures, supervisory controls, the separation of ownership and management, national state regulation, a predominant manufacturing base, and hierarchical knowledge communicated by a downward flow of information.

Mass production for mass market of undifferentiated consumers

The emergence of organizational behavior and development as a discipline has its roots firmly in the soil of modernity as a logical explanations of rationalism.

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Key characteristics of the modern and post modern periods

The modern Post modern

1900-1935 1935-1970 1970-2000

Monopoly capitalism Socio-psychological concerns

with alienation and anomie

• Quality management

• BPR

• Empowerment

• Learning organization

• Corporate governance

Technological determination Hawthorne experiments

Application of scientific method

to management

Discovery of group behaviors

Emergence of Fordism Research into leadership,

motivation and job design

Scientific management and the

classical school of management

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Key characteristics …

Characterizing features Characterizing features

Bureaucratic structure Organic structure

Control is external Control internalized

Separation of ownership and management Downsizing and teamwork- the global economy

National state regulation Post-industrial service economy

Manufacturing base Information technology

Hierarchical knowledge Recognition of limits to progress creates focus

on quality

Constant linear industrial progress through

well-defined strategies

Undifferentiated consumers Differentiated consumers

Industrial relations as trench warfare Industrial relations based on inner compliance

Control Empowerment

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A model for redesigning and repositioning

HRD as a key driver of corporate strategy

=+

Seven keys to successful organizational

change:

1 Provide strong, highly visible and personal

leadership.

2 Institute employee involvement, early and at

all levels.

3 Build a clearly articulated and shared

vision.

4 Provide frequent, consistent and open

communication.

5 Leverage talented and trusted employees as

co-change agents.

6 Set measureable, operational and behavioral

goals.

7 Celebrate success and redress shortcomings.

Successful

HRD transformation

The What The How The Goal

Org.

ChangeOrg.

Learning

Org.

Performance

The core domains of strategic HRD

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Summary

SHRD looks after the promotion of humanistic values

However there is a growing tension between humanistic objectives and organizational needs resulting in value dilemmas and value conflicts.

SHRD deals with the resistance to change and recognizes that resistance is natural and legitimate human process and needs to be understood and worked with in order to develop ongoing learning experiences with in organizations.

The above is a challenge and an opportunity.

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Academy of human resource development

www.ahrd.org

American society of training & development

www.astd.org

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Garavan, T.N. (1991) „Strategic human resource

development‟, Journal of European Industrial

Training, 15(1): 17–30.

Walton, J. (1999) Strategic Human Resource

Development, London: Financial Times/ Prentice Hall

Garavan, T.N., Costine, P. and Heraty, N. (1995)

„The emergence of strategic human resource

development‟, Journal of European Industrial

Training, 19(10): 4–10.

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SEMINARS ON STRATEGIC HUMAN

RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

Level: MSMS

Discussion 4

08-10-2012

Dr. Sajid Hussain Awan, Program Manager MSMS

Organizational culture

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Strategy is an incremental process, is iterative and

strongly influenced by an organization‟s culture,

history structure and stage of life cycle.

Culture is the glue that holds everyone together.

Remember!110

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Outline: SHRD & organizational culture

Approaches to analyzing culture

Functional analysis

The interpretive approach: culture as negotiated meaning

The analysis of cultural codes

Analyzing discourse: speech acts, metaphors and organizational culture

Developing organizational cultures

Conclusion

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Background

Our understanding of the management of change in

the 21st century relies heavily on the 20th century

intervention strategies that also contained ideologies

for managing change in the organization, such as:

Organizational design, innovation and enterprise,

empowerment, strategic downsizing, TQM and BPR, and

teamwork.

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Background…

Each type of intervention strategy was essentially

prescriptive for two reasons.

First, it sought to change the structure of an

organization in some way in order to make it more

effective.

Second, each requires an expert, sometimes with guru

status, to design the plans, recipes and formulas for the

organization to follow.

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Background…

However, out of these, certain change strategies

were more political than others and offered a

formula for success, each contained internal

contradictions that limited the success of the change.

All change contains its own contradictions and that

the wise thinker or skilful change agent must strive

for the goal of enlightenment.

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Background…

All the above mentioned change strategies involve

the manipulation of an organization‟s culture in

some way.

Most strategies sought to radically transform an

organization with a new formula for change.

Most, therefore, required the organization to

reinvent itself with a new ideology of meaning

and purpose reinforced by tools and techniques.

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Background…

But a new approach, such as the adoption of a new

technology, requires a careful diagnosis of

the organization‟s culture.

The failure to recognize an organization‟s culture

places the change agents in a precarious position

because they land in a difficult situation for

managing change.

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Background…

Playing tactics rarely transform the hearts and

minds of employees. So, the change agent needs to

answer the following questions:

How does one engage the willing cooperation of

employees?

How does the vision get successfully transformed into

the mission and critical success factors in such a way

that it becomes a valued activity for all?

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Background…

The change agent must engage with a process of

continual learning and discovery: The analysis of

organization‟s capability through its culture.

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Approaches to analyzing culture

Organizational diagnosis: An examination of the organization‟s culture is the key to this diagnostic process.

The change agent assesses how well the culture of the organization fits its purpose.

For example, in the private sector, the purpose will be defined by market trends and the ability to exploit opportunities in the face of competition.

In the public sector, the purpose will be defined by political policies that demand effectiveness, efficiency and accountability for the public good.

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Approaches to…

Organizational culture is said to be the expression

of rituals, stories, sagas and myths.

Such expressions of culture provided a way forward

for organizational improvement and Western

salvation by inviting a cultural analysis of

organizational life (Hickman & Silva, 1987).

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Approaches to…

The popular discovery of ritual accomplishments and stories of success promoted culture management as the vehicle for enhanced performance (Peters & Waterman, 1986; Deal & Kennedy, 1988).

Consequently, „the concerns of the organization studies avant-garde became redefined from systems and structures to culture and symbolism‟ (Jeffcutt, 1994).

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Approaches to…

People used to ask provocative questions:

The legitimacy of culture management; and

The effectiveness of culture on bottom-line performance

(Lim, 1995).

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Approaches to…

Management rhetoric has placed more focus on

organizational restructuring and post-bureaucratic

transformations from the perspective of managing

chaos, disorganization, disaggregation, delayering

etc.

Much of the rhetoric adopted a democratized, top-

down concern with culture change and culture

management: defined by the employer rather than

the employee.

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Approaches to…

Organizational culture, as a conceptual tool for

managers, gained popularity following the

Excellence Movement by Peters and Waterman

(1982).

They influenced the thinking of managers by

suggesting that corporate success required a strong

culture.

As a result, organizational culture became the route

to competitive advantage.

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Approaches to…

Writers on Japanese methods of work, such as

Ouchi and Jaeger (1978) influenced the

„Japanization‟ of Western organizations by arguing

that Japan‟s economic success and brilliant economic

development resulted from their strong corporate

cultures.

Stability in the midst of mobility.

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Approaches to…

The reasons for the development of the concept of

organizational culture appear to be twofold.

First, there was a shift from the classical quantitative

and „scientific‟ approaches that were thought to be no

longer as appropriate as they had been thought to be

earlier in the century.

Second, is the realization that the world‟s first industrial

nation, Britain, and the world‟s most successful and

prolific nation during the twentieth century, the USA,

were being overtaken by Japan.

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Approaches to…

Therefore, Hickman and Silva (1987) saw this as the

replacement of Fordism, with its emphasis on

systems and control to „complexity management‟

which emphasizes:

(a) shared perspectives between different stakeholders;

(b) creativity; and

(c) social relationships.

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Approaches to…

The culture concept became infused with sound-bite

clichés such as „strong‟, „empowered‟, „power‟, „task‟,

„role‟, „the way we do business around here‟ that

promised more than they could deliver.

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Approaches to…

These similes of gross oversimplification are

intended to portray the layers of complexity that

characterize the corporate culture.

For example, one is almost tempted to say that the

recipe becomes: if you want to manage the

corporate culture think of it ‘like an onion’.

The study of organizational culture provides this

penetrating analysis.

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Approaches to…

The earliest and most concise is the anthropological

definition of culture by Edward Tylor in 1891:

„That complex whole which includes knowledge,

belief, art, morals, law, custom, and any other

capabilities and habits acquired by man as a

member of society.‟

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Approaches to…

Organizational culture may be defined, therefore,

as the sum total of the learned behavior

traits, beliefs and characteristics of the members of

a particular organization.

The key word „learned‟ distinguishes culture from

behavior that result from biological inheritance.

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Approaches to…

Consequently, learned behavior is the one factor

that distinguishes humans from other animals.

This requires the ability to communicate at a highly

sophisticated level.

The human faculty for symbolic communication

facilitates the acquisition of culture and makes it

possible for humans to transmit culture between

generations.

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Communication

Communication is what makes culture. Humans communicate with symbols in four basic ways:

1. Spoken language, patterns of sounds with meanings attached to each. Spoken language facilitates learning and communication.

2. Written language, the graphic recording of spoken language which facilitates the preservation of learning and the legacy of culture.

3. Body language which denotes the exchange of meanings through gestures and body postures.

4. Humans communicate through artefacts. The study of this is known as semiotic communication.

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Organizational culture

Part - B

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SHRD & culture

SHRD aims to produce a coherent and comprehensive

framework for developing people through the creation

of a learning culture and the formulation of

organizational and individual learning strategies.

The main thrust of SHRD is to provide an environment in

which people are encouraged to learn and develop.

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Strategies for creating a learning culture

Learning and development strategies are concerned with

Developing a learning culture,

Promoting organizational learning,

Establishing a learning organization, and

Providing for individual learning.

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Strategies for … Developing a learning culture

A learning culture is one in which learning is

recognized by top management, line managers and

employees generally as an essential organizational

process to which they are committed and in which

they engage continuously.

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The steps required to create a learning culture as proposed by Reynolds (2004) are:

Develop and share the vision.

Empower employees.

Provide employees with a supportive learning environment e.g. peer networks, supportive policies and systems, and protected time for learning.

Use coaching techniques to draw out the talents of others by encouraging employees to identify options and seek their own solutions to problems.

Guide employees through their work challenges and provide them with time, resources and, crucially, the feedback.

Recognize the importance of managers acting as role models.

Encourage networks – communities of practice.

Align systems to vision – get rid of bureaucratic systems that produce problems rather than facilitate work.

Strategies for … Developing a learning culture…

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Strategies for… Promoting organizational learning

Organizations can be described as continuous learning

systems, and organizational learning has been defined

by Marsick (1994) as a process of „Coordinated systems

change, with mechanisms built in for individuals and

groups to access, build and use organizational memory,

structure and culture to develop long-term organizational

capacity‟.

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Strategies for… Promoting organizational learning…

Harrison (1997) defines five principles of organizational

learning as:

1. The need for a powerful and cohering vision of the

organization to be communicated and maintained across the

workforce in order to promote awareness of the need for

strategic thinking at all levels.

2. The need to develop strategy in the context of a vision that is

not only powerful but also open-ended and unambiguous.

This will encourage a search for a wide rather than a narrow

range of strategic options, will promote lateral thinking and

will orient the knowledge-creating activities of employees.

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Strategies for… Promoting organizational learning…

3. Within the framework of vision and goals, frequent dialogue,

communication and conversations are major facilitators of

organizational learning.

4. It is essential continuously to challenge people to re-examine

what they take for granted.

5. It is essential to develop a conducive learning and innovation

climate.

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…Single - and Double-loop Learning

Argyris (1992) suggests that organizational learning occurs under

two conditions: first, when an organization achieves what is

intended and, second, when a mismatch between intentions and

outcomes is identified and corrected.

Argyris distinguishes between single-loop and double-loop

learning.

Single-loop learning organizations define the „governing

variables‟, i.e. what they expect to achieve in terms of targets

and standards. They then monitor and review achievements, and

take corrective action as necessary, thus completing the loop.

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…Double-loop Learning

Double-loop learning occurs when the monitoring process

initiates action to redefine the „governing variables‟ to meet the

new situation, which may be imposed by the external

environment. The organization has learnt something new about

what has to be achieved in the light of changed circumstances

and can then decide how this should be achieved.

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Strategies for…Establishing a learning organization

The process of organizational learning is related to the

concept of a learning organization, which Senge (1990)

describes as an „organization that is continually expanding

to create its future‟.

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Strategies for…Establishing a learning organization…

Garvin (1993) suggests that learning organizations are good at

doing five things:

1. Systematic problem solving – which rests heavily on the philosophy and

methods of the quality movement.

2. Experimentation – this activity involves the systematic search for and

testing of new knowledge. Continuous improvement programs (kaizen)

are an important feature in a learning organization.

3. Learning from past experience – learning organizations review their

successes and failures, assess them systematically and record the

lessons learnt in a way that employees find open and accessible. This

process has been called the „Santayana principle‟, quoting the

philosopher George Santayana (1863 –1952), who coined the phrase

„Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.‟

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Strategies for…Establishing a learning organization…

4. Learning from others – sometimes the most powerful insights

come from looking outside one‟s immediate environment to

gain a new perspective. This process has been called SIS for

„steal ideas shamelessly‟.

5. Transferring knowledge quickly and efficiently throughout

the organization by seconding people with new expertise, or

by education and training programs, as long as the latter

are linked explicitly with implementation.

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Strategies for… Providing for individual learning

The individual learning strategies of an organization are driven by its

human resource requirements, the latter being expressed in terms of

the sort of skills and behaviors that will be required to achieve

business goals.

The learning strategy should cover:

How learning needs will be identified?

The role of personal development planning and self-managed

learning;

The support for individual learning: guidance, coaching, learning

resource centers, mentoring, external courses designed to meet the

particular needs of individuals, internal or external training

programs and courses designed to meet the needs of groups of

employees.

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Rothwell and Kazanas (1994) are of the opinion that strategic

organizational development results in the prevailing norms of groups

in the company and the organizational culture being such that they

make provision for changes that may take place in future.

They are of the opinion that the process of strategic organizational

development enables existing group norms and organizational culture

to adapt to changes that might occur in future.

Albert (cited in Rothwell & Kazanas, 1994) captures the uncertain

nature of strategic organizational development as follows:

“It is hard to identify present norms and culture, it is even harder to

envision what they should be in the future.”

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Strategic organizational development

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Learning culture as described by Reynolds (2004) is a

„growth medium‟ that will „encourage employees to

commit to a range of positive discretionary behaviors,

including learning‟ and that has the following

characteristics:

empowerment not supervision,

self-managed learning not instruction, and

long-term capacity building not short-term fixes.

Strategies for creating a learning culture…

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Discretionary learning happens when individuals

actively seek to acquire the knowledge and skills that

promote the organization‟s objectives (Sloman,2003).

To create a learning culture that acts as a growth

medium it is necessary to develop organizational

practices that raise commitment amongst employees

and „give employees a sense of purpose in the

workplace, grant employees opportunities to act upon

their commitment, and offer practical support to

learning‟ (Reynolds, 2004).

Strategies for creating a learning culture…

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Hofstede‟s value dimensions

Culture affects training topics and methods.

Power distance (extent to which less powerful members of

organizations accept that power is distributed unequally)

Uncertainty avoidance (extent to which people cope with

anxiety by minimizing uncertainty)

Individualism/collectivism (extent to which people stand up for

themselves and choose their affiliations)

Masculinity/femininity (value placed on traditional male or

female roles in Western cultures)

Long-term/short-term view (extent to which society embraces

long-term commitments and tradition)

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Low- and high-context cultures

Low-Context Culture High-Context Culture

Communication is direct,

structured, and specific. Shared

background is not assumed.

Communication is less clear

because of common

understandings and a shared

culture.

A higher value is placed on the

words spoken than on the

nonverbal communication.

Meanings are derived from

nonverbal communication.

Behavior and beliefs are

spelled out explicitly.

Face-saving and tact are

balanced with the need to

communicate fully and frankly.

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Organizational culture

Shared values and perceptions that:

Give members an organizational

identity

Facilitate commitment

Promote system stability

Shape behaviorImpact an

organization‟s success or failure

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Organization culture

A firm‟s organizational culture is shown by:

The way it does business;

How it treats customers and employees;

The autonomy or freedom that exists in the departments or

offices; and

The degree of loyalty expressed by employees.

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Organization culture

Organization culture represents the perceptions held

by the employees:

There is no one „best‟ culture for the development of human

resources.

Culture can:

Impact behavior, productivity, expectations; and

Provide a benchmark for standards of performance

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HRD and Diversity: Diversity training and beyond

Organization culture.

Labor-market changes and discrimination.

Adapting to demographic changes.

Cross-Cultural training programs.

Human resource development programs.

Other human resource management programs.

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The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Managing or valuing diversity encompasses a range of

activities aimed at:

Making managers more aware that women and members

of other cultures or subgroups, may espouse different

values and assumptions which can affect the way they co-

operate, compete, communicate, plan, organize and are

motivated (Langer, 1989).

157

Managing diversity and strategic HRD

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Cross-national diversity refers to managing the interface between

people of two countries.

International diversity refers to managing an increasingly diverse

workforce in a given country.

South African, Malaysian and American societies, for example, are

diverse, and the workforce is multi-cultural.

Managing such diversity requires skilful, informed and extensive training

in interpersonal skills, appropriate systems and an understanding of both

ethnic and corporate cultures.

Valuing diversity extends beyond understanding and co-operation and

should, as an end goal, seek to improve managerial and organizational

effectiveness.

It should aim to build capacity.

158

Cross-national and international diversity

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These can be differentiated from traditional approaches. Key

features of SHRD practices include:

Integration into a human resource strategy, which in turn is aligned with an

organizational or corporate strategy;

Competency based HRD derived from structural, systemic, technological and work

re-organization needs;

This in contrast to menu offerings by centralized training departments in large

organizations;

Line management responsibility for developing people is a key performance

area in the appraisal and reward of a manage;

Partnership between HRD specialists and line managers in developing employee

competencies required to achieve organizational performance goals; and

Creating an organizational culture of continuous learning and transfer of learning

between units.

Strategic approaches to HRD

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The continued competitiveness of the company.

It should also influence the culture of the company and

enable knowledge processes to be performed in terms

of the emergent strategic orientation of the company.

Cost-effectiveness of the training process.

It does not take place in isolation from the culture of the

company and influences its culture.

160

The effect of SHRD on the company

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Researcher on culture

Garavan (1991) explains “Culture must be viewed as a

central factor in the overall process of SHRD.”

McCracken and Wallace (2000b) explain “Culture is

seen as an important variable in deciding how SHRD

should be delivered and evaluated.”

A process of SHRD is characterized by taking into

consideration the culture of the company, but at the

same time also influencing the manner in which it

manifests in SHRD is therefore characterized by the fact

that it does not take place in isolation from the culture

of the company.

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Leadership and culture

The leader has to create a cohesive, excited organization, and so he has a tremendous opportunity to be very successful.

A leader really has to define a compelling business strategy and drill down and understand all of the components of the business and understand the capacity of the organization and to create a culture where there is real commitment and enthusiasm for the future of the company.

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To be continued

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SEMINARS ON SHRD

Employee Learning & Development

Discussion 05

11-10-2012

Dr. Sajid Hussain Awan, Program Manager

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Outline 165

Strategy, Tactics & Operational Effectiveness

SHRD need grows further

Strategy & tactics

Strategic intent (SI)

The strategically focused organization

Strategic positioning and HRD

L&D for everyone

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SHRD focus166

The focus of HRD practice has persistently evolved from class room

training to performance improvement.

SHRD is the extension and sophisticated from of HRD.

The development of HRD theory grew parallel to management

theory and HRM theory.

The growing interest in the strategic management led to SHRD.

This shift in focus was due to increased belief that people with their

blend of knowledge and abilities are themselves a resource of

strategic importance.

Learning is generally involved at three levels of strategy, tactics &

operational execution for organizational performance.

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SHRD focus…

Strategic Human Resource Development

The identification of needed skills and active management of employees‟ learning in relation to corporate strategies.

Benchmarking

Comparing one‟s own standards against those of industry leaders

Employee Development

The process of enhancing an employee‟s future value through careful career planning

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SHRD focus…

SHRD seeks to envisage activities and conditions

necessary for the promotion of HRD and the possible

benefits to an organization pursuing such activities.

HRD policy formulation and planning processes to

develop capabilities of organizational members that

can be a source of distinct competitive advantage not

easily duplicated by competitors.

Critical issues which must be focused upon by

organizations wishing to develop a strategic focus in

their HRD activities.

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The process

Organization learning itself constitutes an important element of

corporate strategy.

Hence the focus of SHRD primarily remains the learning

programs that impact and improve performance.

SHRD is thus strategic repositioning of HRD within organizations,

and becomes an integral part of the strategic and tactical

activities of the business and their successful implementation.

The effectiveness and ultimate success of HRD in an organization

depends on making a pervasive case for linkages between L&D

in the particular organizational context.

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The process…

It then requires aligning HRD efforts with the strategic intent of the organization.

Effective HRD efforts are also to be linked with the other HRM-driven changes like staffing, compensation, and performance management.

Together, these promote learning skillfully within the political economy of an organization's internal power structure and external strategic niche.

Confidence, mutual trust, leadership linked with the facilitating initiatives produce conducive environment to let this all happen.

Such a shift in focus becomes a potential force for leveraging individual and organizational performance.

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Critical Issues: Organizational Learning (OL)

Organizational Learning (OL), as the underpinning process for

SHRD has not yet reached a sufficient degree of maturity.

This is partly due to an OL literature base that is generally

rich in rhetoric but is empirically doubtful.

Associated with this is the predominance of research that has

tended to underplay the importance of social context,

preferring instead to address issues of personal cognition.

Studies that do offer empirical findings tend to limit

investigation to learning difficulties related to personal

characteristics such as learning styles and techniques of

facilitation and training interventions.

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Critical Issues…

Managers should be capable of diagnosing organizational context not simply for learning capability but for organizational constraints that limit the actions of individuals and groups to learn effectively.

In order to redress this problem, greater attention needs to be paid to the structural, cognitive and social barriers to OL.

The research proves that enhanced performance can only occur when participants clearly diagnose the nature of the problems and resolve them through Action Research.

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Strategic HRM: A key to success

Strategic HRM planning leads to:

Growth,

Profits, and

Survival

Planning also:

Expands awareness of possibilities,

Identifies strengths and weaknesses,

Reveals opportunities, and

Points to the need to evaluate the impact of internal and external forces

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HRD & Learning debate: performance

improvement

Learning is central to SHRD, whether explicitly mentioned, or

implicitly assumed.

Learning remains in line with the strategic orientation in the

relevant context.

Whether one focuses on training, or system-level interventions, on

individual , team, or organizational level activities, on strategic

or job level performance, (S)HRD is centered on fostering

learning.

The guiding principle of HRM remains “positioning of the right

people to achieve the highest possible performance in order to

meet strategic goals” and HRD helps in facilitating such decisions.

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Performance improvement

The guiding principle of HRD remains “preparing and continually developing people and learning systems to achieve the highest possible performance in order to meet strategic goals.”

Long term strategic performance improvement requires an educative focus on developing executive talent, fostering spiritual critical debate about an organization‟s direction and the opportunities that may be presenting themselves, and connecting to strategy- nascent trends in society as well working on system improvements.

However, we do not forget immediate performance improvement through ensuring that organizational members have access to resources for developing their capabilities for performance and for making meaning of their experience in the context of the organization‟s strategic needs and the requirements of their jobs.

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HRD in transition

Class room training- performance improvement-

building strategic capability

It is aligning behavioral and social sciences with the

management perspectives.

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Learning & the HRD pyramid

Tactical Level(Learning from experience)

Operational level(Operational improvement methods)

(Management development)

(basic skill and competency training))

Strategic level(identifying the strategic

pattern)

(developing strategy)

(Developing strategic leaders)

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Learning & the HRD pyramid…

Learning at the strategic level involves identifying the strategic pattern of events, including trends in the external environment, the consequences of the existing strategic initiatives and the emergent strategy of the organization.

Developing strategic thinkers at various levels within the organizations

Learning at the tactical Level involves experience, drawing lessons especially from initiatives –

after-action reviews

Learning at the operational level requires:

Trainings in sales, process improvement methods (TQM, six sigma), basic management development and job skills training throughout the organization.

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Six Sigma

Data-driven methodology for eliminating defects.

A process must not produce more than 3.4 defects per

million opportunities.

Six Sigma employees (Green Belts) and project leaders

(Black Belts) are overseen by quality leaders (Master

Black Belts).

Widely used by GE and Motorola.

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Strategic thinking180

Strategic thinking assumes:

A set of needs or objectives that are considered important and are potentially contested by others;

These others can be conceptualized as opponents who are either competitors for scarce resources or wish to achieve objectives different from and contrary to one‟s own objectives; and

These opponents typically have their own strategy and are also going to react to the perceived strategy and tactics that one puts into play to achieve one‟s objectives.

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OD Intervention Process

1.

Diagnose

the environment.

2.

Develop

an action plan.

3.

Evaluate

the results.HR roles:

• Change agent

• Evaluator

3-181

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OD Interventions

• Span of control

• Reporting

relationships

• Process analysis

• Job design

• Specialization

• Work flow analysis

• Work relationships

between employees

Examples: Team building, diversity, flexible work and

staffing, and quality initiatives

Interpersonal Technological Structural

3-182

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Systems Theory

Applied in organizational development

interventions.

Essential to the quality movement and leads to

process improvement.

Based on understanding the relationship between

three key components:

ProcessInputs Outputs

3-183

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Adult learning principles

Adults want training that:

Focuses on “real world” issues,

Applies to their jobs,

Meets their goals and expectations,

Allows for debate and challenge of ideas,

Encourages an exchange of ideas and opinions,

Allows them to be resources to each other, and

Meets a current need.

3-184

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Bloom‟s taxonomy

Evaluation

Synthesis

Analysis

Application

Comprehension

Knowledge

Highest level of

learning

Lowest level of

learning

3-185

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McClelland‟s theory

High achievers:

• Set moderately difficult but potentially achievable goals.

• Prefer to work on a problem rather than leave the

outcome to chance.

• Seem to be more concerned with personal achievement

than with the rewards of success.

• Seek situations in which they get concrete feedback on

how well they are doing with regard to their work.

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The ADDIE Model

Assessment Design Development

ImplementationEvaluation

Systematic development process used to create

employee learning that aligns with strategic goals.

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Need assessment

Form basis

for evaluation

Identify

programs

and target

audience

Find

performance

gaps

Identify

needs

Purpose of

Assessment

3-188

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Needs assessment levels

Examines KSAs needed as

organizations and jobs change.

Compares job requirements with

employee knowledge and skills.

Focuses on individual employees

and how they perform.

Organizational

Task

Individual

3-189

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Needs assessment process

1. Gather data

2. Determine

training needs

3. Propose solutions4. Calculate cost

5. Implement

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Learning design

Decisions are made

regarding:

Goals and objectives.

Target audience

(aptitude, prior

knowledge, and

attitudes).

Selection of an

instructional designer.

Training objectives use

the SMART format:

S Specific

M Measurable

A Action-oriented

R Realistic

T Timely

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Content development

Involves the creation of training materials.

Development trends include:

Use of learning objects (LOs) or reusable learning

objects (RLOs).

Saves development time by reusing content in a variety of

contexts in the organization.

Object may be a graphic, an animation, or an entire

learning module.

A dedicated learning management system (LMS) to

hold course content and track employee activities.

3-192

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Development types

Orientation and on-

boarding

Initial exposure to the

organization

Expansion of

orientation and

assimilation into the

organization

Skills development

Remedial

Sales and quality

Technology

Other types

Executive

Wellness

Harassment prevention

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Talent management

Development and integration of HR processes that

attract, develop, engage, and retain the knowledge,

skills, and abilities that will meet current and future

needs

Strategic approach to human capital management

Increases workplace productivity and ability to compete

Should be aligned with organizational goals and

executed as an ongoing process

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Staffing

challenges

• Reliance on contingent workers

• Retirement of baby boomers and likely

labor shortage

• Shortage of knowledge workers

• Diversity of workforce

Economy/

job market

• Economic conditions

• Global and domestic competition

Forces impacting talent management

3-195

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Fostering a high-performance workplace

Executive support

Challenging work

environment

Employee engagement

activities

Resources and tools.

Performance management

training

Continual feedback

Consistent management

practices.

Organizations must provide:

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Conclusion

Hence the L&D strategy of an organization

must focus on the need to anticipate learning

requirements in the present environment to

cater to what is needed now and in the

future.

L&D is action and not reaction.

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SEMINARS ON SHRD

Discussion 6

18-10-2012

Dr. Sajid Hussain Awan, Program Manager

Strategy making as learning

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Outline

Foundational strategic concepts, tools and learning: The analytical strategic positioning approach

Strategic core competencies: Recognizing the strategic value of collective tacit know-how

Emergent strategy: The focal point of strategic learning

Strategic learning

Strategy making as learning conversations

Working at the top of the HRD pyramid – Designing and facilitating strategic conversations

Facilitating strategic conversations

Situation analysis

The core responsibility of the “Chief Learning Officer”

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200

The role of strategy for HRD practice is increasingly emphasized in the HRD literature.

Same is the case with the concept of learning that became more explicit with the development of “experience curve” originally called the “learning curve” coined by the Boston Consulting Group in the 1970s.

Experience curve is an influential concept compatible with a more formal and analytical view of strategic learning.

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Foundational strategic concepts, tools and learning:

The analytical strategic positioning approach

BCG introduced learning as a core strategy.

Bruce Henderson (1970s) in BCG developed a model based on researchthat demonstrated a predictable and exponential inverse relationshipbetween cost and company‟s experience of producing a particular product.

Economy of experience provides significant competitive advantage to anycompany with a new product line that can establish itself as early marketleader because of the superior ability to control pricing and margins basedon experience.

Analytical view of strategic learning underlies the BCG “growth sharematrix,” with its emphasis on success being linked to the highest marketshare.

This matrix also popularized the portfolio-analysis approach to corporatestrategy, treating the various businesses of a diversified company as aportfolio of business units.

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Based on an assessment of each in the organization‟ portfolio,businesses are placed in one of four cells:

Stars: Market leaders that are at the peak of their product life cycleand are able to generate sufficient cash to sustain their position. Whentheir market growth rate slows, starts turn into cash cows.

Cash cows: Businesses that bring in more money then they need tomaintain their share of the market. Cash cows generate resources forthe question marks.

Question marks: New products with potential for turning into stars.Their future is still a risk that must be funded with money from moremature products, typically cash cows.

Dogs: Cash cows that are in declining market, or business with lowmarket share. Either these businesses should be divested, or their cashflow carefully managed.

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The BCG growth share matrix

22 -

20 -

18 -

16 -

14 -

12 -

10 -

8 -

6 -

4 -

2 -

0 -

10

X –

4X

2x –

1.5

x –

1x –

0.5

x –

0.4

x

0.3

x-

0.1

x-

Stars

Dogs

Question mark

Cash cows

Busi

ness

gro

wth

ra

te (

Perc

en

t)/

indu

stry

attra

ctiv

eness

Relative competitive position/competitive

advantage

203

Hig

hLo

w

LowHigh

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Criticism on BCG growth model

Too simple

Focuses only on comparison with one competitor -

the market share leader

Uses a simple dichotomy of high and low

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Porter‟s five forces model

The most influential analytical tool for strategic

thinking is Porter‟s five forces model of strategic

positioning:

Industry competitors,

Suppliers,

Buyers,

Potential new competitive entrants, and

Substitute product.

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Porter‟s five forces model

POTENTIAL

ENTRANTS

BUYERSSUPPLIERS

SUBSTITUTES

INDUSTRY

COMPETITORS

Rivalry among

existing firms

Threat of new entrants

Bargaining power of

buyers

Threat of substitute

products or services

Bargaining power of

suppliers

Forces driving industry competitions

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Strategic core competencies: Recognizing the strategic

value of collective tacit know-how

207

The source of competitiveness lies in an organizations

core competencies (Prahalad & Hamel, 1993).

Core competencies are the collective learning

embedded in the organization‟s culture, knowing how

to coordinate diverse sets of skills, blend technologies

into new streams for product innovation, and organize

work.

For example, Casio‟s putting a radio on a computer

chip and the art and science of miniaturization

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… collective know-how…208

To develop and practice core competencies, marketing, engineering and technical specialists must forge a deep understanding of technological possibilities and that how they fit together with potential customers needs and wants.

Such competence cannot be easily imitated; rather it must be developed over time.

Core competencies are tacit organizational knowledge, the kind of organizational learning that is only visible in its execution; however, this cannot be stored in the organizational database.

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The concept of alignment in SHRD

The meanings and understandings attached to alignment and the

extent to which they are affected by contextual factors such as

organizational size and sector or the professional location of the

employee.

Research indicates that experiences of HRD alignment are complex,

ambiguous and contextually orientated.

Alignment is depicted as an iterative process involving dialogue and

bartering; involvement in different organizational and business

planning processes, and the use of benchmarks and other

organizational metrics.

There is a range of tensions and challenges associated with the pursuit

of alignment highlight approaches to organizing HRD that suggest

passive rather than actively aligned practices.

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… alignment in SHRD…

The link between HRD and the long-term priorities of the

organization is a key feature of the strategic HRD literature

(Clardy, 2008; Francis & Keegan, 2006; McCracken &

Wallace, 2000).

Indeed Garavan (2007, 25) defines strategic HRD as a

„coherent, vertically aligned and horizontally integrated set

of learning and development activities which contribute to

the achievement of strategic goals.‟

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… alignment in SHRD…

HRD professionals who aspire to a strategic contribution are

expected:

To work with senior managers to devise and implement

workplace learning policies and practices that fit with

other organizational systems and contribute value

through the development of the human capital assets of

the organization (Zula & Chermack, 2007).

Although alignment is a key feature of the strategic HRD

literature, there is little empirical evidence of its achievement in

practice.

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… alignment in SHRD…

HRD is a broad and continuously evolving area of interest embracing a range of traditions and a multi-disciplinary knowledge base (Walton 1999; Weinberger,1998)

At the same time, it lacks clear consensus about its „status, identity and territory‟ (Garavan, McGuire, & O‟Donnell, 2004; Gold, Rogers, & Smith, 2003, 437).

McGoldrick, Stewart, and Watson (2001, 351) use the metaphor of a hologram to communicate the complex and changing conceptual, empirical and theoretical features of HRD, highlighting the importance of human social action and perception as a basis for understanding HRD as simultaneously „multi-dimensional, multi-causal, mutually-dependant and constantly changing.‟

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… alignment in SHRD…

The performative aspirations of strategic HRD have been contested

(Fenwick, 2005; Callahan, 2007).

But the proponents seeks SHRD to:

Enhance the core capabilities of the organization (Clardy 2008; Garavan,

McGuire, & O‟Donnell, 2004; Weinberger 1998; Walton 1999) and

Effectively managing performance (Garavan, 2007; Purcell et al., 2003; Semler

,1997).

For this to happen, they focus attention on the relationship between:

Learning and Resource Maximization, and

Productivity enhancement and the leveraging of learning and development.

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… alignment in SHRD…

Thus alignment is seen as a way by which the HRD

function can interact „vertically‟ with other

stakeholders to:

inform strategic processes and identify, describe and

protect core „people‟ competencies,

achieving a „return on investment‟ and

contributing to the achievement of competitive advantage

(Clardy, 2008; Zula & Chermack, 2007; Ulrich &

Brockbank, 2005).

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… alignment in SHRD…

Alignment, therefore, is portrayed as providing the

opportunity for senior managers and HRD

executives to share strategic knowledge and

information, and for HRD activities and processes to

be integrated „horizontally‟ to encourage, support

and direct appropriate action (Kim and Cervero

2007; Garavan 2007; Burrow and Berardinelli

2003; Gubbins et al. 2006; Wognum 2001).

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… alignment in SHRD…

Although the strategic HRD literature presents alignment as a key

issue, it offers scant discussion of it conceptually or empirically

(Wognum, 2001).

Over more than a decade, in the general strategic management

literature alignment has been variously referred to as:

Integration,

Fit,

Linkage,

Bridge, and

Congruence (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004; Weill & Broadbent, 1998;

Ciborra 1997; Porter 1996; Henderson & Venkatraman, 1992).

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… alignment in SHRD…217

In the above context, two aspects are highlighted:

Firstly, the need to achieve a dynamic „fit‟ between the

external competitive environment and the choices and

decisions made about the strategic direction of

organizations (vertical integration).

Secondly, the imperative of achieving internal alignment

of different functional parts of the organization

(horizontal alignment) is indicated.

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… alignment in SHRD…

Alignment is problematic, however, both conceptually and practically.

Theoretically, alignment should be achieved at both strategic and operational levels

(Wognum, 2001), and this involves reconciling tensions between long-term strategic

aspirations of the organization and shorter-term imperatives.

Internal or horizontal alignment is also predicated on the existence of a clearly

communicated strategy with which HRD processes can be linked; something which can

be problematic (Francis & Keegan, 2006; Boselie, Dietz, & Boon, 2005, Wognum &

Lam, 2000).

Equally, it is possible that alignment might be too „tight‟ and so reduces future

strategic capability (Avison et al., 2004).

Beer et al. (2005) advocate that organizations should develop both „fit‟ (as initial

strategic alignment) and also „fitness‟ (as dynamic organizational design) to provide

the capacity for organizational members to learn and change in order to adapt to

new circumstances.

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… alignment in SHRD…

A review of the literature also suggests that alignment is something of a

„dual‟ concept, viewed as both an outcome and a process.

Alignment can be treated as an outcome or as a measurable „result‟

(Smaczny, 2001; Weill & Broadbent ,1998).

This approach focuses attention on strategic planning methods, structures and

measures.

Wognum (2001) highlights the importance of ensuring the alignment of initial

HRD investment processes suggesting that alignment involves three-stages:

1. The identification of organizational strategies, problems and developments;

2. The examination of the HRD implications of these; and

3. The strategic choices about HRD investment to meet the identified priorities.

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… alignment in SHRD…

Alignment can also be characterized as a dynamic

process (see, for example, Avison et al., 2004;

Wognum & Lam, 2000; Edwards, 2000) involving

interactions between organizational actors,

networks and values, as well as communication and

understanding processes.

Here the importance of monitoring and managing

ongoing alignment processes is stressed.

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Empirical evidence

Although there is an implicit assumption in the

strategic HRD literature about the importance of

alignment, academic and practitioner research

spanning more than 10 years and incorporating a

range of methodologies casts doubt on the extent to

which the strategic alignment of HRD is or has been

achieved in organizations in Europe and North

America.

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Empirical evidence…

Academic enquiry into perceptions about HRD in Ireland, for

example, have indicated a lack of consensus between different

groups of organizational „actors‟ about the „meaning, values and

purposes of HRD (Garavan, Heraty & Morley, 1998).

Survey-based research amongst Dutch companies found only limited

evidence of a broad alignment process, particularly at the strategic

level (Wognum 2001; Wognum & Lam, 2000).

Case study research by Kuchinke also highlighted that in US

organizations „an inclusive, strategic and comprehensive form of HRD‟

seemed to be the exception rather than the rule (Kuchinke, 2003,

306).

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Empirical evidence…

In addition, the practitioner-orientated literature is unclear about the extent to

which alignment is achieved.

Practitioner-orientated survey data from the US (Accenture, 2004) has indicated

that less than 20% of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) are very satisfied with the

level of alignment of learning, training and development with business goals.

Interview-based research with senior HRD executives and CEOs in the US also

found „significant opportunities for the HRD function to align more closely with

executive-level expectations and aspirations, to make learning more strategic

and central to the ongoing success of the enterprise‟ (O‟Driscoll, Sugrue, & Vona

2005, 70).

Data from the IBM 2008 Global Human Capital Study (IBM Global Business

Services, 2007) found that, whilst HRM/D contributes to business strategy in some

organizations, it does not provide input to strategic issues in many others.

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Empirical evidence…

Survey data from the UK also suggest that the alignment of HRD to

organizational strategy remains problematic.

Firstly, UK survey data from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and

Development (CIPD, 2007) indicate that only one-third of UK learning and

training managers feel that learning and development implications are taken

into account when overall organizational strategy is formulated

The survey also indicates that the HRD function is not a key stakeholder for

organizational strategy in almost one half of organizations (CIPD, 2007).

Other HR practitioner survey data from 2007 (Wolff, 2007) also suggest that

UK HRD managers see their greatest challenge as achieving greater support

from their organizations‟ leaders and the necessity of aligning learning,

training and development (LTD) with forthcoming or current organizational

change.

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Empirical evidence…

The strategic HRD literature, therefore, asserts the importance of alignment.

It presents alignment as both:

an outcome focusing on HRD investment decision-making and evaluation, and

a process involving the management of the „ongoing‟ interaction between the HRD function and

other organizational stakeholders.

The „quest‟ or „doctrine‟ of alignment as depicted in the strategic HRD literature,

therefore, involves interactions at executive level to ensure information sharing,

formalization and strategic HRD decision-making as part of a „strategic

partnership‟ between HRD and other stakeholders (Wognum & Lam, 2000).

However, the literature indicates a range of conceptual and practical difficulties

associated with this level of integration are apparent, and the extent to which

non-HRD executives accept and enact HRD theories of what alignment „should‟ or

„might‟ be is also unclear.

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Alignment in practice

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Important questions

It‟s a review process, a review strategy – is it still right for us?

We always ask that question whenever we go back and look at the strategy:

Are we doing the right thing?

Is it having the right effect?

Should we carry on with this?

Should we drop that one?

Do we do more of this and less of that one?

Which has the most effect?

It‟s not always easy to determine that because time is involved and you have to give

these things more time.

It‟s in the review process and the results, of course, if you can tie some of the results

back to some of these softer issues then it gives us some indication of whether we are

doing the right thing and doing it well.

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Alignment: fact or fiction?

The research indicates that some of the senior manager

participants were not sure how the HRD function ensured its

alignment to organizational priorities.

Many of the interviewees reflected on the effects of the

devolution of responsibility for learning, training and

development to line managers in making alignment a

somewhat ambiguous issue (Whittaker & Marchington, 2003;

Gibb, 2002; McGovern et al., 1997).

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The core responsibility of CLO229

The chief learning officer ensures that the learning

needs of the organization are identified and met.

He defines the link between a particular

organization‟s strategy and its performance

requirements.

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Conclusion

Learning‟s role is emphasized in strategy-making process.

The core competencies of an organization are embedded through learning.

Whether or not the devolution of responsibility of learning and development to line managers represents evidence of alignment or a lack of alignment, it might be expected that performance management processes would be described as an „avenue of alignment‟, as it is an established process within the experience and remit of both HRD executives and senior managers in many organizations (Garavan, 2007; Semler, 1997).

Strategy leads to learning and together these lead to performance.

However learning is dependent to economic realities that confront the organization

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To be continued