An Evaluation of HRD Practices in Private Sector Sugar Mills in India

Transcription

1 HRD Practices in Contemporary Industries Published by Global Vision Publishing House Editors P. Surjith Kumar N. Panchanatham An Evaluation of HRD Practices in Private Sector Sugar Mills in India V. Anitha* and M. Dhanabhakyam** Human resources are the energies, skills, talents and knowledge of people which potentially can, and should be applied to production of goods and services. The trajectory of human resources in management is that of all the M s in management, i.e. management of materials, machines, methods, money and motive, M is for man or human resources is most important. Human resources should be utilised to the maximum possible extent in order to achieve individual and organisational goals. In organisations, results and productivity are directly proportional to the quantity and the quality of its human resources. Organizsations of today are producing products and services that were unknown in the past, thus giving new life with much more material comforts than ever before. All these comforts are possible through the effective utilisation of human resources that need to be polymerised for effective productivity. Sugar industry in India is an important agro based industry next to textile industry. It plays a vital role in the economic development of the state particularly in rural areas. The India Sugar Corporation Limited (ISCL), a public sector company set up in 1974 under the Companies Act is running in public sector sugar mills. Keeping in mind the * Scholar, Department of Commerce, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore 46, anithavelu_comm@yahoo.in ** Assistant Professor, Dept. of Commerce, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore

2 246 HRD Practices in Contemporary Industries importance of human resource in organisation, an attempt is made to study the evaluation of HRD practices in private sector sugar mills in India. An interview schedule has been administered to study the HRD practices of the selected mills. Data were collected through such interview schedule consigning wide variety of HRD practices adopted by the respondent mills, such as training practices, career planning, reward and recognition and performance appraisal were followed in the selected mills which in turn have remitted in higher motivation, encouragement, organisational commitment and level of satisfaction of the employees. Introduction In the modern industrial set up, HRM has become one of the most important functions of the management because it is concerned with the human factor in the organisational performance, by which it accounts as the most important factor in all sorts of activities. To enable every person to understand, develop and utilise their potential, organisations and nations should provide a developed climate as well as opportunities to employees. HRD is a planned approach to enhance the development and growth of employee skills, judgment and maturity to realize overall organisational and individual employee goals. HRD programmes are implemented to develop employee capabilities to carry out job functions more effectively and to meet projected staffing needs. HR should be utilised to the maximum possible extent in order to achieve individual and organisational goals. In organisations, results and productivity are directly proportional to the quantity and the quality of its human resources. As the new millennium unfolds itself in today s complex and dynamic environment, the challenges are significant in number and magnitude for the organisational managers. For effective dealing with these challenges, the managers have to possess the required knowledge and skills to diagnose what goes on in the environment, develop strategies for meeting new conditions and implementing such measures, which will sustain organisational health and vitality.

3 An Evaluation of HRD Practices in Private Sector 247 Among other sources, HR is considered as an important resource because of the changing scenario of business environment policy and trade. The stiff competition, globalisation, liberalisation and privatisation, advancement in technology, communication and autonomy has made HR essential. No doubt, in the present competitive, dynamic, adaptable modern world which can enrich and keep abreast itself in the current technology and growth, it is very much challenging to an organisation even to survive in the field although it has adequate other resources. The concept of HRD is not new and has been present in various early periods in military and banking in the form of training. HRD emerged as a significant area of human endeavor during World War II due to the sudden and immediate need to change large number of non-working population into workers. Teachers were recruited from high schools and colleges to become instructors in the armed forces and in industrial establishments in the war effort. HRD did not have to prove itself since each worker added had to undergo the in house HRD programme. Literature Review Dayal (1989) discussed that HRD is important for growth of the organisation and is a good investment for the future. He pointed out that HRD is not an isolated exercise and HRD should be taken up as a part of several other programmers to improve organisational performance. Prasad (1994) has made a sincere attempt to cover the elements of personnel management in public enterprises. In his study, he has concluded that the concerned experts must carefully handle every step in HRD. No effort should be spanned in recognising and utilising human efforts. Donohoe and Rochelle (1981) examined the importance of the HRD department in increasing productivity by successful implementation of training programmes. With the overall goal of productivity improvement, HRD directors must contribute to the quality of the work force through the

4 248 HRD Practices in Contemporary Industries support of HRD. A viable programme for HRD professionals to bring about training programmes should consist of establishing HR philosophy, a HRD policy, and integrating HRD into long range organisational planning. Munk (1998), in his study on The New organization Man, suggests that the younger knowledge workers demand an environment that provides flexibility. Edward (2005) pointed out in his article that HR is now recognised as the most valuable input. In order to compete at the international level, organisations are spending time and money for developing the HRD mechanism. The climate in which the employees work is affected by the implementation of well-planned HRD instruments in termed HRD claimer. Need for Study The sugar industry is one of the important agro-based industries which contributes significantly to the growth of the global economy by providing large scale direct employment to several thousands of people and indirect employment to several millions of farmers and agricultural workers in the rural areas who are involved in cultivation of cane, harvesting, transport and other services. Brazil is the largest producer of sugar in the world. India and Thailand are some of the major producers of sugar in the Asian region. Today, there are high expectations from HRD. A good HRD requires well structured, appropriately identified HRD systems and competent staff to implement and facilitate the change process. In the competitive age, there is no more essential task than recruiting, retaining, developing and motivating employees because without people committed to executing the business strategy, success cannot occur in the sugar industries. Keeping in mind the importance of HR in organisation, an attempt was made in the study to review the HRD practices in sugar mills. The study also extends to the attitude of employees about HRD system and problems faced by the employees.

5 An Evaluation of HRD Practices in Private Sector 249 Objectives of the Study To study the existing personnel policies practiced in sugar mills in the study area. To appraise the level of HRD practices in sugar mills. To assess the satisfaction level of employees about the HRD practices employed in selected sugar mills. To suggest ways and means by which the selected sugar mills can improve their high performances of work practices. Methodology The private sector sugar mills in India have been selected for this study. Information was collected from 400 workers and 100 staff of 5 private sector sugar mills out of 19 private sector sugar mills in India. The study adopted random sampling with regard to the selection of sugar mills. The sample size was fixed at 20% of the total employee strength from each selected mill. About 500 sample respondents out of 2506 total employees were planned for the study (Table 1). An interview schedule was administered to study the HRD practices of the selected mills. Data was collected through such interview schedule consigning wide variety of HRD practices namely training and development, reward, recognition and performance appraisal. Analysis of HRD Practices To measure the HRD score, a 5 point Likert scale of rating was employed for assigning the score values. A rating of 5 indicates that the statement is almost always true, 4 indicates that the statement is mostly true, 3 indicates that the statement is sometimes true, 2 indicates that the statement is rarely true, and the statement 1 indicates not at all true, about the HRD practices which are followed in their organisations. A total score for each respondent from all the statements was calculating during the above scoring procedure.

6 250 HRD Practices in Contemporary Industries Results and Discussion Every organisation can do a lot to make their people become dynamic and proactive through proper selection of such people and nurturing their dynamism and other competencies. Organisations cannot survive beyond a point unless they are continuously alert to the changing environment and continuously prepare their employees to meet the challenges and have an impact on the environment. Thus, HRD practice is an essential process for the organisation s survival and growth. TABLE 1 Distribution of respondents by organisation Organization Staff Worker Staff No. of Percentage No. of Percentage No. of Percentage Respondents age Respondents age Respondents age Mill - I Mill - II Mill - III Mill - IV Mill - V Total Source: Primary Data TABLE 2 Influence of Workers Education on HRD Score S. No Education No. of Percentage Mean S.D CV Respondents 1 High School or less Degree PG Degree Professional Others Total

7 An Evaluation of HRD Practices in Private Sector 251 ANOVA Sum of Squares Mean Square F Remarks Between Groups * Within Groups Total * Significant at 5% Level Employees can easily understand their work plans, when they are having sound education. Moreover, training is the act of increasing the knowledge and skill of an employee for doing a particular job. It is concerned with imparting specific job related skills to employees. On the other hand, education is concerned with improving knowledge and understanding of the employee s total job related environment. The study indicates that one fourth of the workers were having less than high school level of education (Table 2). Therefore, the study mills can appoint educated people to utilise optimum level of their knowledge, skill and competence. TABLE 3 Distribution of respondents by experience in current job No of Respondents S.No Experience Staff % Worker % Total% % in current job 1 Less than 3 Years Years to 6 Years Years to 9 Years Years to 12 Years Above 12 Years Total Source: Primary Data Experience only can make employees perfect in their job. They are a precious property for an organisation. When an organisation desires to possess more experienced employees, labour turnover must be minimised. To minimise the employees turnover, they need

8 252 HRD Practices in Contemporary Industries to satisfy the workers essential needs. The findings indicate that more than three-fourths (75.8%) of the employees possessed less than nine years experience (Table 3). Hence, the study sugar mills may concentrate to reduce their labour turnover ratio and provide necessary welfare facilities to satisfy the workers. TABLE 4 Present salary of workers and their opinion on HRD practice S. Present No. of Percentage Mean SD CV No Salary Respondents 1 1 Up to Rs.7, Rs.7,501 to Rs.10, Rs.10,001 to Rs.12, Rs.12,501 to Rs.15, Above Rs.15, Total ANOVA Sum of Df Mean F Remarks Squares Square Between Groups ** Within Groups Total ** - Significant at 1% Level Good compensation plans, which are well administered, have a salutary effect on the entire organisation. Employees will be happier in their work, their co-operation and loyalty would be higher, amount of output is up and the quality is better. In the absence of such plans, compensation is determined subjectively based on haphazard and arbitrary decisions. This creates several inequities, which are among the most dangerous sources of friction and low morale in an enterprise. The findings clearly indicate that one third of sample workers draw a salary between the range of Rs.10, 001 and Rs.12, 500 per month (Table 4). Therefore, the research results suggest

9 An Evaluation of HRD Practices in Private Sector 253 that the study sugar mills may not only concentrate on non-monetary benefits, but also on monetary aspects. TABLE 5 Impact of staff s age on HRD score S. No Age No. of Percentage Mean SD CV Respondents 1 Less than 30 Years Years to 39 Years Years to 49 Years Years to 59 Years Above 60 Years Total ANOVA Sum of Df Mean F Remarks Squares Square Between Groups NS Within Groups Total NS - Not significant TABLE 6 Salary of the workers and its impact on level of satisfaction S. Present No. of Percentage Mean SD CV No Salary Respondents 1 Up to Rs.7, Rs.7,501 to Rs.10, Rs.10,001 to Rs.12, Rs.12,501 to Rs.15, Above Rs.15, Total

10 254 HRD Practices in Contemporary Industries ANOVA Sum of df Mean F Remarks Squares Square Between Groups NS Within Groups Total NS - Not Significant It can be observed from the findings that the sample staff whose age group is between 50 and 59 years obtain a high HRD score of and highest SD (5.75) is shown among 40 and 49 years when compared to other categories (Table 5). It indicates that there are imbalances of opinion among them. Therefore, the study sugar mills may give right training to them. Employees have generally rendered their services for monetary benefits. It indicates that the employees exchange the work for compensation. Wages and salaries have their impending bearing on employee performance and in turn organisational performance. From the research, the sample workers whose present salary range is between Rs.7,501 and Rs.10,000 were found to have high level of satisfaction mean score of (Table 6). Therefore, it is suggested that the study sugar mills may give more importance to motivate the employees by the way of more compensation, promotion, words of praise, self-respect and better incentives. Moreover, services rendered by the workers to organisation have to be adequately paid to satisfy all categories of employees. The research found that over workload and favouritism in promotion are the problems of the employees (Table 7). It creates a bad impression in employees minds on their organisation. Therefore, the study sugar mills may concentrate on job evaluation and weightage may be given to education, skill and seniority for promotion.

11 An Evaluation of HRD Practices in Private Sector 255 TABLE 7 Problems faced by respondents in their work place S. No Problem Total Score Mean Score Rank 1 Inconvenient Shift time VIII 2 Over workload I 3 Lack of cooperation from superior X 4 Less leave facilities III 5 Frequent job transfer IX 6 Favoritism in promotion II 7 Over penalty / fain XI 8 Less welfare facilities V 9 Lack of job security VII 10 Low transport facilities XII 11 Inadequate wage bill IV 12 Inadequate self development VI Source: Primary Data CONCLUSION The study aims at evaluating the HRD practices in private sector sugar mills in India. For this purpose, the major component selected for measuring HRD is level of satisfaction by employing Likert scale measure with several statements. The problems faced by the employees are measured through ranking techniques. The results showed that suitable training practices, carrier planning, reward and recognition, and performance appraisal were followed in the study sugar mills, which in turn have remitted in higher motivation, encouragement, organisational commitment and level of satisfaction. The major findings of the study reveal that there is a direct link between the level of satisfaction of the employees and their motivation. Good satisfaction promotes better action in their performance. Therefore, the study sugar mills should think of preparing a human resource accounting report giving various details

12 256 HRD Practices in Contemporary Industries of its human resource competences, utilisations, needs, deficiencies, moral, motivations, team work and stress levels. These reports may be presented to the boards, it should be discussed, and decisions may be taken by the board to improve their motivation level by the way of pay benefits and balancing their workloads. The research concludes that the present HRD practices are quite satisfactory in the study sugar mills. The employees satisfaction level is also considerably good. Still, such HRD practices of the study sugar mills are to be continually monitored, strengthened and renewed. BIBLIOGRAPHY Akhauri, P.P. (2003). Let us be Business Focussed. Horizon, 5 (1), Amin, Shahid (1984 ). Sugarcane and Sugar in Gorakhpur - An Industry into peasant production for capitalist enterprises in colonial India, Oxford University Press, Delhi. Anderson, J., Durston, H. And Poole, M. (1988). Thesis and Assignment Writing. New Delhi, Wiely Eastern Limited. Bansal, P.C. (2006). Developing Leadership for the Global Era: HRD Perspectives and Initiatives. Indian Journal of Industrial Relations, 41(3), David, A. De Cenzo and Stephen P. Robbins, (1999). Personnel/Human Resource Management (Third Edition). Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi. Dutta & Sundaram (1996). Indian Economy, S. Chand and Company, Ltd., New Delhi. Edward, E. (2005). Human Resource Development: The New Trainers Guide Ed., Les Donaldson, 5th April. Galloway, J.H. (1989). The Sugarcane Industry, Cambridge University Press. Padmanabhan, V. and Senthilvasan, K.G. (2008). Sugar Industry Global and Indian Perspective. Kisan World, (9), Pandey, A.P. (2002). Development Banking in India (with Special Reference to UPFC), Bharati Prakashan, Varanasi.

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