CHAPTER ONE
Manpower development, now commonly referred to as human resource development, is an ongoing process that analyzes, forecast and projects an organization’s future manpower requirements. In other words, manpower development focuses on such issues as whether the organization is ready to compensate for the loss of experience from retiring employees and if employees are adequately prepared to implement organizational change with their skills as a result of the experience they have gained from their various higher institutions. Manpower development is a process that seeks to optimize an organizations usage of its human resources. It requires an integrated approach that addresses multidimensional aspects of employees, ranging from enhancing technical and interpersonal skills to creative thinking and leadership.
In human resource development, learning and training for individuals and organizations, John P. Wilson says the term development implies an improved situation attained by an individual through learning.
Richard A. Sawson and Elwood F. Holton in Foundations of Human Resource Development†define human resource development (a more recent term for manpower development) as a process that helps develop human expertise through personnel development with the objective of enhancing performance.
Manpower development is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization. Manpower development which can also be referred to Human Resource development is also the name of the function within an organization charged with the overall responsibility for implementing strategies and policies relating to the management of individuals.
Purpose and Role of Manpower Development
In simple terms, an organization’s human resource management strategy should maximize return on investment in the organization’s human capital and minimize financial risk. Human resource managers seek to achieve this by aligning the supply of skilled and qualified individuals and the capabilities of the current workforce, with the organizations ongoing and future business plans and requirements to maximize return on investment and secure future survival and success. In ensuring such objective are achieved, the human resource function is to implement an organization’s human resource requirements effectively, taking into account federal, state and local labour laws and regulations, ethical business practices and net cost, in a manner that maximizes as far as possible employee motivation, commitment and productivity.