next level of maturity. Potential appraisal and career planning and development
are the least developed and used subsystems. The HRD departments need to have
professionally trained and competent staff. If they have to make an impact, they
should enhance the maturity levels of all the above subsystems. These subsystems
have a lot of potential for giving competitive advantage through the development
of employees and their competencies.
A Study on Line Managers Perceptions of HRD
In a study by Mungale and Bhatiani (2003), perceptions of the HRD function by
162 line managers from different organizations were assessed. These were drawn
from 18 companies and included between 3 and 10 line managers from each company.
The line managers of each company assessed the extent to which the HRD
departments are performing 87 different activities under eight different functions.
The results were compared with the results of a similar study conducted in 1991
on 53 organizations with one line manager drawn from each company. With all
the methodological inadequacies, this is perhaps one important source of data we
have to compare. While both studies used the same questionnaire, the 2003 study
had a four-point scale while the 1991 study used a six-point scale. For comparison
purposes, the scores were converted into percentage scores for both the studies.
The results are reproduced in Table 1.
This study indicated a definite decline in the perceptions of the effectiveness
with which the various HRD functions are being performed as perceived by the
Table 1. A Comparative Study of Effectiveness of Performance of Various HRD Functions
by the HRD Managers as Perceived by Line Managers in 1991 and in 2003
HRD Function
Percentage Score of Effectiveness
as Perceived by Line Managers
1991 Study 2003 Study
I. HRD philosophy and liaison with top
management
48 40
II. Creating development motivation in line
managers
47 33
III. Strengthening HRD climate through HRD
systems
43 35
IV. Directing HRD effort to goals and strategies
of the organization
43 39
V. Monitoring HRD implementation 33 27
VI. Human process research 26 28
VII. Infl uencing personnel policies 48 45
VII. Networking and bench-marking 69 34