MANAGING THE HUMAN RESOURCES OF BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS IN A DEPRESSED ECONOMY

ABSTRACT

The  purpose  of  this  research  work  is  to  highlight  on  managing  the  human resources of    business organisations in a depressed economy.  Today’s business environment is in the state of flux, where competition  is the  name of the game. Organizations that fail to change may be forced to change from existence to non- existence, hence survival is the panacea. To survive, companies must explore all available  avenues  that  can  bring  about  competitive  advantage.  To  develop  a competitive advantage, it is important that firms truly leverage on the workforce as a  competitive  weapon.  Specifically,  the  study  aimed  to  pursue  the  following objectives: to establish the relationship between Human capital management and organizational performance, to determine the effect of training and development on organizational performance, to examine the role of environmental factors on organizational   productivity,   to  ascertain   whether   effective   recruitment   and selection boost human resource management. The study had a population size of

1,210, out of which a sample size of 303 was realised using Taro Yamene formula at 5% error to tolerance and 95 % level of confidence. Instrument used for data collection  was primarily questionnaire  and interview.  The total numbers of 303 copies of the questionnaire were distributed while 283 copies were returned. The descriptive  research  design  was  adopted  for  the  study.  Four  hypotheses  were tested using Pearson’s moment correlation coefficient, chi-square (x2) and Z- test statistical  tools.  The  findings  indicate  that  there  was  significant  relationship between  human  capital management  and  organisational  performance.  Training and  development  positively  affects  organisational  performance.  Environmental factors significantly affect  organisational productivity;  Effective recruitment and selection significantly boost human resource management of an organisation. The study  concluded  that  theoretical  and  technological  advance  in  human  capital management has allowed manufacturing organizations to move beyond managing personnel  by head  count and billet,  the managing  their workforces.  The study recommends  that  Organizations  should  take  training  and  development  programmes serious because that determines how effective and efficiently organizations are been run.

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Organizations  are increasingly looking at human resources as unique assets that can   provide   sustained   competitive   advantage.   The   changes   in   business environments   with   increasing   globalization,   changing   demographics   of  the workforce, increased focus on profitability through growth, technological changes, intellectual capital and the never ending changes that organizations are undergoing have led to increased need for  managing human resources (Devanna, Fombrum, and Tichy, 1998). A human resource (HR) department that is highly administrative and lacks strategic  integration fails to provide the competitive advantage needed for survival, thus losing its relevance. Huselid and Becker (1997) found that there were   noticeable   financial   returns   for  organizations   whose   human   resource management (HRM) systems have achieved operational excellence and are aligned with strategic business goals. According to Ulrich (1998), a major role of Human Resource Personnel is to become a strategic business partner.  Youndt and Scott (1996) find that firms employing HR practices according to the stated strategy are regarded as having better perceptual performance.  Singh (2003) gives a broader approach  to  looking  at  strategic  human  resources  management  (SHRM)  by integrating various functions and establishing the linkage between these functions and the business  plan. It is  important  not only to identify HR competencies  in concurrence  with the  business  needs and to develop  selection and development practices  to  secure  those  competencies,  but  also  to  evolve  and  implement  a performance  evaluation plan that links the performance  of the employees to  the strategic goals.

Knowledge is important for organizational performance,  and by implementing a human  resource  strategy  to  develop  the  knowledge  worker  and  to  retain  the knowledgeable, a firm can understand how to create, transfer, and use it effectively to develop a competitive advantage. As a result,  knowledge  has emerged as the most strategically significant resource of the firm (Grant, 1996) and is built into the very nature of the firm (Penrose, 1959).Knowledge workers are not labor, they are

capital  (Drucker,  2002).  The  loyalty  of  knowledge  workers  and  the  ways  to minimize turnover are critical management problems (Alvesson, 2000).

Modern businesses are full of challenges, to face these challenges,  organisations should recognise the fact that human resources are indispensable. This is because of their role as the prime mover or initiator of all productive activities. According to  Donnelly  et  al  (1992:315)  human  resource  management  is  the  process  of accomplishing   organisational   objectives   by  acquiring,   retaining,   terminating, developing  and  properly  using  the  human  resources  in  an  organisation.  The acquisition   involves   recruiting,   screening,   selecting   and   placing   personnel. Recruiting efficient individuals matters a lot to an organisation for it to  attain  its objectives.   Employees at a  particular time must be fired for breaking rules and regulations or failing to perform their duties regularly.

Human Resource Management issue have been major concerns for managers at all levels  because they all reach their goals through the effort of others this requires the effective and efficient management of people (Desler et al 1999). The spacious array of HRM activities for example, planning, recruiting,  selection and training just to mention a few place enormous responsibilities on supervisors and managers alike. These include  analyzing  jobs, planning  labour needs, selecting employees orienting and training employees, managing compensation, communicating (which includes counselling and disciplining) and maintaining employee commitment.

In  addition  to  the  already  mentioned  activities  are,  ensuring  fair  treatment, appraising  performances,  ensuring  employee  health  and  safety,  building  and maintaining good employee labour relations, handling  complaints , occupational health and safety, labour relations, and other  legislation affecting the workplace. Regardless of field of expertise, from accounting to production control, learning about employees right, employer  responsibilities,  and effective Human Resource Management practices may provide all managers with knowledge that enable them to perform more effectively.

1.2   STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The most precious resource of an organization,  which forms its backbone, is  its Human Resource. Behind every successful organization there is a team of highly motivated  and  dedicated  workforce  committed  to  achieving  its  goal  .  Human Resource is not only the prime mover of all economic activities but also the end goal  of  such  activities.  Proper  Manpower  planning,  their  future  growth  and development,  needs and fulfilment  of day-to -day  requirement  are vital for the prosperity  and  health  of  any organization.  Most  successful  organizations  have devised  ways  to  keep  their  human  resources  highly  satisfied  and  make  them participative in crucial matter related to the organization. For some time, now the Nigerian  economy  has  been  under  serious  pressure  as  a  result  of  prolonged economic depression. In the face of the gloomy picture however, our organisations still  need  to   stay  afloat.  The  problem  of  the  human  element  in  Nigerian organisations has been   eaten up by inflation. They have several needs that  are grossly difficult to achieve, the low demand of outputs of organisations is affecting their willingness to empower by of training and development. The  possibility of displacement by efficient machines (computers, robots ete) is affecting the  psyche of the worker. Pertinent to the above, the study seeks to investigate managing the human resources of business organisations  in a depressed  economy.

1.3      OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Given  the  statement  of  the  problem  above,  this  study  aims  to  achieve  the following objectives.

1.        To determine the relationship between Human capital management and organisational performance.

2.        To determine the effect of training and development on organizational

performance.

3          To examine the role of environmental factors on organizational productivity.

4          To ascertain whether effective recruitment and selection boost human resource management.

1.4      RESEARCH QUESTIONS

For  this  study to  accomplish  it  desired  objectives,  some  basic  research questions were formulated

1          What   is   the   relationship   between   Human   capital   management   and organisational performance?

2          What  are  the  effects  of  training  and  development  on   organizational performance?

3         What role do environmental factors play in organizational productivity ?

4          How   do   effective   recruitment   and   selection   boost   human   resource management?

1.5      RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses was formulated and will be  tested in their null forms .

1.	Ho:	there is no significant relationship between human capital   management and organisational performance.
	H1:	there is   significant relationship between human resource   management and organisational performance
2.	Ho:	Training and development do not positively affect Organizational
		productivity.
	H1:	Training and development positively affect organizational   productivity.
3.	Ho:	Environmental factors do not significantly affect organizational
		productivity.
	H1:	Environmental factors significantly affect organizational   productivity.
4.	Ho:	Effective recruitment and selection do not significantly boost
		human resource management of an organization.
	H1:	Effective recruitment and selection significantly  boost human   resource management of an organization.

1.6      SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

1.   The findings of this study will enable management  appreciate  better  the need   for   effective   manpower   planning,   training   and   development programmes in the organization.

2.   It  will  show  how  an  organization  can  develop  and  maintain  a  good workforce  that will ensure or enhance   organization’s  effectiveness  and increased   productivity   through   effective   management,   planning   and development.

3.   The  findings  of  this  study would  highlight  the  need  for  managers  and trainers   to   design   the   content   of   their   training   and   development programmes to reflect the needs of the employees and the organizations in other words, managers and trainees of business organizations will find the research findings very useful.

4.   The study will be of immense help to other people and students who might wish to carry out research on the topic under study.

1.7      SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study was limited to three manufacturing companies selected for the study: Anamco plc, Nigeria bottling company and Unilever Nigeria and the scope covers from  2006  -2011  . Basically,  the  study confirmed  on  the  following  concepts: definition of human resource management, model of human resource management, process  of  human  resource  management  and  human  resource  management  in depressed economy. Etc.

1.8      LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

In  the  cause  of  carrying  out  this  research,  the  researcher  experience  some difficulties which manifested in the following ways.

1.   Time  constraint:  Due  to  the  limited  time  available  for  the  study,  the

researcher could not go to place to source for enough information for the study.

2.   Attitude of respondents:  Some respondents  are indifferent  to the  study because they feel they have nothing to benefit from the study financially or otherwise.

3.   Finance: Due to  financial constraints,  the researcher  could not visit  some places to gather more information about the work.

1.9      DEFINITION OF TERMS

1.   Human  resource  management:  This  is  the  process  of  accomplishing organizational  objectives by acquiring,  retaining,  terminating,  developing and properly using the human resource in an organization (Donnelly et al

1992:120).

2.   Recruitment: This is the process of looking for prospective employees and motivating them to apply for jobs in the organization (Ezigbo 2007:401).

3.   Development:  This  focuses  on  building  the  knowledge    and  skills  of

organizational  members  so  that  they  will  be  prepared  to  take  on  new responsibilities and challenges (Obi 2004:48).

4.   Environment:  According  to  Church-man  (1968:43  )  this  is    a  fixed constraint to an organization, for the organization cannot control it or do anything about   it, but at the same time, the environment is  important to organization in  the attainment of its objectives.

5.   Compensation: This is defined as what an employees receive in exchange for their contribution to the organization. (Ikeagwu 2000:121).

6.   Depressed Economy: This is an economy  that is suffering from low level of business activity, low capital income, unemployment and inflation (Agu, 2004:8).

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