HR Practitioner's perspectives on HR Education in B-Schools : Issue of Rigor, Relevance and a Paradigm shift towards Knowledge and

Skills framework for HR students !

Bagali M M 1

Abstract

The concept of globalisation affects and effects anything and everything in the industrial scenario and one needs to

be in a constant touch, to understand it's happenings. The HR Practitioners are one such set of experts who are in

constant touch with their happenings and are often found to be genuinely informative and decisive in their approach

to their profession and to their organizations. Further, the perception of the HR Practioner's when it comes to eval-

uating and hiring B-school graduates, views the graduate's skills, knowledge levels, competencies and employabil-

ity, with suspicion. This perception may have grown into a mental set and a practice, may have lead to create a

large pool of management graduates who are un-employable, and if they are, their employability to the higher /

finer echelons of an industry are a rarity. Unfortunately, the Higher Education (H E) sector, especially the Faculty

of management education in India, has not paid much heed to these issues. The regulatory bodies have focused

more on granting approvals rather than improving the employment issues of management graduates in the country

resulting into high proliferation and low quality of teaching- learning. Thus, this study has been initiated, which

looks into the HR Practioner's perspective of HR Education, where things are not correct; which things are to be

ratified; where things are to be restructured.

A questionnaire has been developed and used to collect the data from the HR Practitioner, currently working in var-

ious organizations, such as IT, ITeS, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Aerospace, Hospitality, Consultancy, Bank-

ing, Insurance and Financial Services predominantly based in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The data collected, was ana-

lyzed using statistical tools such as Frequency, Percentage, Coefficient of Correlation and Chi Square, by the appli -

cation of SPSS 20.0.1 software. The study stresses the need and sustenance for the development and use of HR

Practitioner's perspective in designing and development of HR management education, as an important component,

in the development of a holistic and industrially relevant syllabi, consisting of value added skills, practice and atti-

tudinal set.

Keywords:, HR education, HR Practitioners, Skills and Comptency, Management Education, Management Schools

1 Professor of Human Resources and Management, & Director (Research Projects and International Affairs), REVA University, Bangalore. e: dr.mmbagali@gmail.com

! This is a part of the PhD work under my guidance in the HR area. The Topic of the PhD is "Management Educators and Stake-holders on HR Education in B schools”, and is a submitted work

1

Introduction

B-schools have been able to establish a sizeable presence for themselves, within the Collegiate Institu-

tions around the globe (Kumar and Jha, 2012). Quality based postgraduate management education con-

tributes to the society in many ways beyond just formal upgrading and up skilling. The research, training

and consultancy undertaken by the faculty in such B-schools, on businesses, people practices and organi -

sations, markets, and environment together contribute to an enlarging repository of knowledge and skills;

this ensures that teaching-learning process, being adopted by the concerned B-school, remains current and

relevant. This helps the organisations and companies to acquire a compact understanding of its strategies,

and the execution of that will ensure their success and longevity in the market. Subject , skills- comp -

tency- knowledge expertise of the Academician, along with their students', is sought by members of the

business community ranging from small family firms, to technology start-ups, to multinational corpora-

tions and others (Kaul, 2011; Gupta and Gollakota, 2004).

HR Management Education contribution as an outcome endeavour

Hambrick and Mason (1984) suggested that organisations are reflection of their top managers. Building

on this work, Finkelstein and Hambrick (1996) argued the importance of human element in strategic

choice and firm performance. Infact, managers in-particular represent a unique organisational resource

(Daily, Certo and Dalton, 2000). The human element has grown in importance because knowledge has

become a critical ingredient to gain a competitive advantage, particularly in the new economy landscape

(Grant and Spender, 1996). Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, emphasised this point - “The

most magical and tangible and ultimately the most important ingredient in the transformed landscape is its

Human Resources”. The best HR always comes from the best b-schools, and the best b-schools are al-

ways made by the faculty who take the ownership in imparting the latest needed knowledge and training

based on the organisational needs.

The literature on organisational learning, for example points out organisations, in and of themselves, do

not create knowledge, people do (Argyris and Schon, 1978). Knowledge is created by individuals and the

best knowledge by best teachers and educators. An organisation cannot create knowledge on its own

without individuals. Individual learning is prerequisite for organisational learning (Kim, 1993). Individual

learning occurs simply by virtue of being human. As individuals learn, they increase their human capital

and create knowledge that potentially forms a foundation for organisational level learning and knowledge

accumulation. Knowledge stocks provide a foundation for understanding the role of human capital as a

2

potential source of firm's core competencies (Grant and Spender, 1996). Managing people based on their

human capital will allow an organisation to optimise knowledge creation - whether of new product ideas

and services or of improvements in business processes (Hitt, et al., 2001; Lepak and Snell, 1999). Re-

searchers have examined that, variations in HR practices is accompanied by differences in employment

system as well as differences of human capital (Lepak and Snell, 1999). Through a series of unique HR

practices firms may have access to valuable human resources that provide a source of competitive advan-

tage (Colbert, 2004).

Human capital theorists have typically argued that organisations can increase their human capital by inter -

nally developing the knowledge and skills of their current employees and by attracting individuals with

high knowledge and skill levels from the external labour market. That is, organisations can try to make

and buy human capital. Human capital grows in two ways; a) when the organisation uses more of what

people know; b) when more people know more of what is useful to the organisation (Stewart, 1997). Ac-

cording to resource based view of the firm, performance differences across the firm can be attributed to

the variance in firm's resources and capabilities. Resources that are valuable, unique and difficult to imi -

tate can provide the basis for firm's competitive advantages (Barney 1991). Organisation exists for a pur-

pose and is a deliberate arrangement of human and other resources with the aim of delivering needs, satis-

fying services and products as effectively and efficiently as possible, which ultimately needs optimal

workforce planning.

Becker (1964) originally pointed out that under norms of rationality organisations would prefer programs

that produce firm-specific skills that are non-transferable to other companies. Specific resources are

unique and difficult to imitate (Barney, 1991). Specificity of skills is associated with specificity of human

capital. In other words, it can be stated that human capital is most valuable when it is firm specific (Hatch

and Dyer, 2004; Hitt et al, 2001). Management institutes are often criticised for focusing more on theory

and on quantitative analysis while neglecting interpersonal relationship and quantitative finding. It is of-

ten stated that management education should be experience-based, problem oriented and modified by

feedback and action learning serves the purpose (Kaul, 2011; Shewta and Kumar 2011; Kumar and Jha

2012). MBA graduates are deficient in global perspective, leadership skills, integration skills, recognising

organisational realities and implementing effectively, acting creatively and innovatively, thinking criti-

cally and communicating clearly, understanding the role, responsibilities and purpose of business, under-

standing the limits of models and markets (Datar, Garvin, and Cullen, 2010). In the absence of these

skills, the MBAs do not remain employable. This is furthered by the NASSCOM ’s report (2012) indicat-

ing that not more than 25 per cent of engineers and MBA graduates are employable. There is an clear ob-

servation that, soft skills, hard skills, and employable skills are missing.

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To add to the problem, there is a decrease in placements of MBAs. This phenomenon began in 2008 when

getting lucrative jobs by MBA students nosedived (Rao, 2012; Sarkar 2011). Slowdown in the economy

has added to their problems as all B-schools in India, including the IIMs, are feeling the impact of global

slowdown in their placements. This problem has compounded with the increase of students in their insti -

tutes. For instance, IIM-Indore is felt maximum heat as its batch size has increased from 240 in 2011 to

450 in 2012 (Rao, 2012). Getting the right number and quality of faculty members is a challenge for In-

dian B-schools. Additionally, the quality of research of the Indian B-school faculty members is also not

up to the global standards (A white paper based on the present study results, reviled that, majority of In-

dian b-schools faculty papers are not cited nor refereed and appear in top business journals). Unfortu-

nately, a majority of B-school promoters are least concerned about attracting, developing and retaining

good faculty. They usually develop cold feet when it comes to faculty development while they do not

mind spending lavishly on infrastructure, advertising, etc, which may not fetch much in the long run.

Promoting Employability of HR Students in Industry

Christopher (2010), in his project “Employability and emotional intelligence of the individual within the

school-to-work transition phase” has investigated the relationship between the employability (as measured

by the Southern African Employability Inventory) and emotional intelligence (as measured by the Assess-

ing Emotions Scale) of individuals within the school-to-work transition phase. He infers that there is a

positive relationship between employability and the emotional intelligence to the graduates giving the

clue that in addition to scholastic grades, some more skills also have a role to play in deciding the em -

ployability of graduates.

Maxwell et al (2009), in their study of “Employers as stakeholders in postgraduate employability skills

development” intended to raise the important issue of the gap between the skills developed on postgradu-

ate programs and employers’ stated needs of postgraduates and to narrowing the gap. After the study they

found out Placement of full time employers pre-experience students prioritise “communication”, “inde-

pendent working” and then, equally, “problem solving”, “personal learning and development”, and “team-

work”, while employers of part-time, post-experience students prioritise “communication”, “problem

solving” and “decision making” are core skills required to cater the needs of the employers which can be

achieved if there is input from the employer in curriculum as well as work place. This places more em -

phasis on the involvement of the employers than just the contribution from the institutions. Gracia (2009),

in her research “Employability and higher education: contextualizing female students’ workplace experi-

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ences to enhance understanding of employability development”, intended to study higher education use of

Supervised Work Experience (SWE) as a mechanism of employability skills development through explo-

ration of female students’ experiences of accounting SWE, and its subsequent shaping of their views of

employment. Findings of this study suggest that female students’ participation within the socio-cultural

field of professional accounting employment through SWE exposes them to a range of work-based gen-

dered experiences. It was also found that skills development should have the gender touch as females will

face a different set of problems after their graduation.

Apel (2008), in a conference paper, “Employability: Towards an empirical concept paper for the confer-

ence activation policies on the fringes of society: a challenge for European welfare states Nuremberg”,

studied the relationship between the employability and universities to prepare policies for the future. The

study revealed, that they predicted the integration into employment is better when individual employabil-

ity is considered. This has thrown some light on requirement and insight into individual employment.

Wilton (2008), in his study of “Business graduates and management jobs: an employability match made

in heaven?” drawing on data drawn from a questionnaire survey of 1999 graduates, four years after gradu-

ation, and a program of follow-up qualitative interviews, reported on the experiences of recent business

and management graduates. In particular this paper explored the relationship between skills developed on

undergraduate program and those subsequently used in employment, particularly in managerial careers.

Finally he could suggest that management education providers might well benefit from greater engage-

ment with recent graduates about their experiences in the workplace and the relevant skills that should be

developed on undergraduate Business and Management program. Such engagement might offer a more

focused template for skills training on undergraduate Business and Management programs, especially to

prepare graduates for managerial work.

Rationale for the Research Study

The field of higher management education with special focus on HR education, in India needs the inputs

from all its stakeholders, especially so with its HR Practitioners, who are in the cusp of the ever changing

face of the industry. The inputs of these Practitioners are needed now, as the traditional university struc-

ture of educating and training tomorrow’s business leaders needs to bring in extensive changes. This has

to be done with an aim to provide HR management students with the best of knowledge, skill sets, atti -

tudes and the necessary talents to compete in this marketplace. The primary focus of any organisation are

its People. They provide the intellectual capital and the catalytic advantage to sustain and promote both

themselves, their organisations and the business itself. Hence, this research study has been planned, i.e.,

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HR Practitioner / HR Professional as a stakeholder in the HR management education, brings in the much

needed expertise to support all the stakeholders in the process of updating the HR education.

HR Management studies is the need of the hour. Academia and its practice (i.e. Industry) are closely re-

lated to each other, the concepts and applications of which has to be provided for learning and practice for

education and training. This has to be done on an unequivocal basis to the HR student, without which the

outcome, may not be complete, resulting in plethora of problematic issues for all the stakeholders, the HR

student, HR Academicians, the B-school and finally HR practitioners in the Industry.

The enquiry areaUnfortunately the higher education sector, especially the management arena in India, has not paid much

heed to the above mentioned issues. It has created its own niche structure and function, which has helped

in the past, but the same, causes damage to all concerned and has become a difficulty to be dispensed off

in the days to come. The regulatory bodies have focused more on granting approvals rather than improv-

ing the quality of management education in the country in terms of rigor and relevance. This has resulted

into high proliferation of B-schools and low quality of teaching-learning-practice methodologies. Thus,

Management education in India is losing its ability to attract people, as evidenced by the sharp decline in

the number of MBA aspirants, as a large number of seats across the country remain unfilled in various

Business schools (B-schools). The scene being that such B-schools have prematurely opted for closure,

without understanding the causes nor working around their problems. Hence, this exploration into the is-

sues of management education of B-schools in India, from the HR Practitioner's perspective, and getting

the inner insights of corporate expectations and ground reality at one end, and the HR education frame-

work and limitations in b-schools, on the other, and how a synergy can be modelled.

The Design of the study: Methodology

ObjectiveTo understand the HR Practitioner’s perception in terms of teaching and learning process of HR subjects,

evaluation & examination system, internships, the scope of HR, job / role exposure, job preparedness and

thereby understand the employability.

Hypothesis development

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H1 : There is no correlation amongst the gender, age group and the designations by the core HR compe-

tency of the HR Practitioner.

H2 : There is no relationship between the designations and the business competencies of the HR Practi-

tioner being hired.

H3 : There is no link between HR Practitioners designation and the choice of selection of fresh HR re -

cruits.

H4 : Knowledge and skill sets amongst fresh HR recruits and type of the industry are not linked.

Geographical Area The geographical area was predominantly Bengaluru based companies / industries which included IT,

ITeS, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Aerospace, Hospitality, Consultancy, Banking, Insurance and Fi-

nancial Services.

Sampling DesignStratified random sampling was adopted as design for the present study. The samples are HR Practition-

ers, working as designations like HR Executive, HR Officers, HR Asst Managers, HR Managers, HR Se-

nior Managers, HR Consultants & Senior Consultants, Associate Directors, from different types of indus-

tries / companies, and another section is the Executive Committee members associated with HR Profes-

sional Associations. The companies/organisations from which the study samples have been selected has

been given in exhibit no 1.

Exhibit No 1

Demographic data of the HR Practitioners

Sl No Parameter Frequency Percent

Overall 33 100 %

Age groups 28-32 8 24.24%

33-37 5 15.15%

38-42 11 33.33%

43-47 4 12.12%

48-52 2 6.06 %

53+ 3 9.09%

Gender Male 22 66.67%

7

Female 11 33.33%

Educational Background

MBA 18 54.55%

PGDM 4 12.12%

MBA, PhD 1 3.03%

MSW 9 27.27%

MSW, PhD 1 3.03%

Designation HR Executive 1 3.03%

HR Officer / Asst Manager 6 18.18%

Deputy Manager / HR Manager / Consul-tant

1236.36%

HR Sr Manager / Sr Consultant 8 24.24%

Assoc Director / Director 2 6.06%

Chairman / EC member 4 12.12%

Type of In-dustry

Manufacturing 11 33.33%

IT 5 15.15%

ITeS 4 12.12%

BFSI 1 3.03%

Retail 1 3.03%

Hospitality / Beverages & related 2 6.06%

Consultancy 2 6.06%

Pharmaceuticals 2 6.06%

Aerospace 1 3.03%

HR Professional Association * 4 12.12%

* The logic of having inclusion from the Professional Association is to understand from their view point, the challenges of HR education and the framework for future, as these Association, by

virtue of group of Professionals as Members from HR background, form the stakeholder for HR education promotion, perseverance and branding, per se.

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Exhibit No 2

Name of the Company / Organisation of HR Practitioners

Sl No Name of the Company / Organization Nature of Work / Type of company1 Great Place to Work Institute Consultancy

2 ACE Micromatic Manufacturing

3 ACE Designers Manufacturing

4 JIT software Information Technology

5 L&T Information Technology

6 UB Group Conglomerate (Mix of industry verticals)

7 Shopper's stop Retail

8 IBM Information Technology

9 ING Vysya Banking & Insurance

10 ACE Manufacturing systems Manufacturing

11 JSW steel Manufacturing

12 Allergis Corp Information Technology enabled Services

13 Arvind Ltd Manufacturing

14 Target India Ltd Information Technology

15 Unitech India Information Technology

16 Equifax India Ltd Information Technology enabled Services

17 MyStudio Consultancy

18 SE Tech Ltd Information Technology

19 Federal Moghal Manufacturing

20 Fouress Engineering Manufacturing

21 Makino Manufacturing

22 Mylan Labs Pharmaceutical

23 Mahindra Aerospace Aerospace

24 Gold Finch Hotels / Resorts Hospitality / Service

25 Eisenk Ltd Information Technology enabled Services

26 Toyota Kirloskar Motors Manufacturing

27 AdvikPvt Ltd Manufacturing

28 Syngene India Pharmaceuticals

29 National Institute of Personnel Management (NIPM)

HR Professional Association

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30 More Than Human Resources (MTHR) HR Professional Association

31 Indian Society for Training & Development (ISTD) HR Professional Association

32 Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) HR Professional Association

ToolThe tool in the form of questionnaire was developed and used in the study. The tool

consists of the following parts, viz: the first part consist of socio-demographic data wherein the age, gen-

der, and educational qualification. The second part consists of HR education appraisal like the teaching

and learning process of HR subjects, evaluation & examination system, internships, the scope of HR, job /

role exposure, job preparedness and thereby employability, and also about the future directions, amongst

the new entrants to HR field.

Cronbach's alphaThe Cronbach's alpha value for the HR Practitioner's questionnaire is .729.

Method of Research workThe research design adopted for this study is Descriptive - Explanatory. The entire work was done in two

phases, i.e., pilot study and main study. This pilot study was conducted over a period of three months, on

a total of 05 samples. The tool was finalised as per the results of the pilot study, with the necessary

changes being added to the tool. For the main study, the researcher obtained prior permission, visited

number of companies/organisations. In each company, the HR Practitioners were approached and ap-

praised about rationale of the research work being done; and upon obtaining their time of convenience,

the interviews were conducted, at their convenience. The data collected was coded, entered into computer

systems using SPSS 20.0.1 version, was analysed using statistical tools like - Frequency, Percentage, Chi-

square and Coefficient of Correlation. This process took about a period of nine months.

Analysis of Results

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Exhibit No 3

Distribution of Designations and total work experience amongst HR Practitioners

Category of Organization / Company / Association

Total work experience of HR Practitioners

Total0 - 5 6 to 10 11 to 15 16 to 20 21 -25 26 +

Manufacturing n 3 2 4 0 0 2 11

% 50.0% 20.0% 57.1% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 33.3%

IT n 1 2 2 0 0 0 5

% 16.7% 20.0% 28.6% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 15.2%

ITeS n 0 1 0 1 2 0 4

% 0.0% 10.0% 0.0% 33.3% 66.7% 0.0% 12.1%

BFSI n 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

% 0.0% 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.0%

Retail n 1 0 0 0 0 0 1

% 16.7% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.0%

Beverages / Hospitality /

Group

n 1 0 0 1 0 0 2

% 16.7% 0.0% 0.0% 33.3% 0.0% 0.0% 6.1%

Consultancy n 0 1 0 1 0 0 2

% 0.0% 10.0% 0.0% 33.3% 0.0% 0.0% 6.1%

Pharmaceutical n 0 0 1 0 1 0 2

% 0.0% 0.0% 14.3% 0.0% 33.3% 0.0% 6.1%

Aerospace In-dustry

n 0 1 0 0 0 0 1

% 0.0% 10.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.0%

HR Professional Body

n 0 2 0 0 0 2 4

% 0.0% 20.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 12.1%

Total n 6 10 7 3 3 4 33

% 18.18% 30.03% 21.21% 9.09% 9.09% 12.12% 100.0%

Based on the comparison of HR Practitioners on their years of total work experience, we have nearly 31%

with 6 to 10 years of work experience. These are followed by 22 % of the HR Practitioners with 11 to 15

years of work experience, and 20 % of the HR Practitioners, who possess 0 to 5 years of work experience

was observed. In Comparison, amongst the HR Practitioners, based on their industrial sector, the majority

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of them came from Manufacturing sector at 34 % of the sample population, followed by IT based HR

Practitioners with 16 %. Lastly, ITeS based HR Practitioners came at around 12 %.

Exhibit No 4

Gender and core HR competency of HR Practitioner

Core HR Competency

Male Female

Total Tests of Significance

1 n 2 1 3

CC=.354; p=.449

% 9.1% 9.1% 9.1%

2 n 6 4 10

% 27.3% 36.4% 30.3%

3 n 5 1 6

% 22.7% 9.1% 18.2%

4 n 3 4 7

% 13.6% 36.4% 21.2%

5 n 4 0 4

% 18.2% 0.0% 12.1%

6 n 2 1 3

% 9.1% 9.1% 9.1%

Totaln 22 11 33 X2= 47.36;

p=.449% 66.7% 33.3% 100.0%

1= Core & general HR knowledge / Industry specific HR skill set / Attitude - humble & honest / Decision making / problem solving; 2 = Office skills / soft skills / Adaptability / quickly learn / connect to people & process / adv knowledge; 3 = Passionate about HR / Need for human touch / skill to deal with numbers & process / CAPA; 4 = connect with business & people / KSA of HR / Technology & numbers / exposure to all industry; 5 = Command over language / Tech savvy / in touch with latest happenings in market / Talent mgmt / Futuristic LD practice; 6 = problem solving / positive aggression / ability to complete the work / loop & cover it end to end / Channelizing of work

Gender wise comparison revealed that out of the total 33 HR Practitioners, as many as 67 % of them are

male and 33 % are female. The majority of the male HR Practitioners were found at 28 %. Lastly, they

came in at 19 % .Chi-square test revealed no difference between these groups of frequencies (X2=47.36;

p=.449), which helps us to infer that this is non-significant. Further, Contingency coefficient revealed

that a significant association (CC=.354; p=.449), indicating that at 30 % of the HR Practitioners, we have

the highest core competency in " Office skills / soft skills / Adaptability / Quickly learn / Connect to Peo-

ple & Process / Ability to develop Advanced HR knowledge'. This was followed by around 22 % of the

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HR Practitioners with "Connect with business & people / KSA of HR / Expertise in Technology & Num-

bers needed / Exposure to all types of Industries". Lastly with 19 % of the HR Practitioners with "Pas-

sionate about HR / Need for human touch / Skill to deal with Numbers & Process in HR / Application and

follow up of CAPA". Other competencies came in at minimum of 12 % with "Command over

languages / Tech savvy / In-touch with latest happenings in Market / Expertise in Talent Management".

Exhibit No 5

Previous work expe-

rience in HR stu-

dents

Type of the Organization Total

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

a n 1 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 9

% 9.1% 40.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 50.0% 0.0% 0.0% 100.0% 27.3%

b n 10 1 2 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 17

% 90.9% 20.0% 50.0% 100.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 50.0% 100.0% 0.0% 51.5%

c n 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

% 0.0% 0.0% 25.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 3.0%

d n 0 2 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 6

% 0.0% 40.0% 25.0% 0.0% 100.0% 50.0% 0.0% 50.0% 0.0% 0.0% 18.2%

Totaln 11 5 4 1 1 2 2 2 1 4 33

% 33.33 15.15 12.12 3.03 3.03 6.06 6.06 6.06 3.03 12.12 100.0%

CC=.738; p=.000X2= 39.425 ; p=.000

HR Practitioners, types of organisation, and previous work experience in HR students

1= Manufacturing; 2 = IT; 3 = ITeS; 4 = BFSI; 5 = Retail; 6 = Beverages / Hospitality / Group ; 7 = Consultancy; 8 = Pharmaceutical; 9 = Aerospace ; 10 = HR Professional body.

a= NA; b = If they have some experience in HR area, it is good / any functional area is ok; c = R&S / PMS experience will be good to have; d = LD / RS / HR Gen -eral work would be good too.

The results revealed that nearly 34% of the total population is found in the manufacturing sector, followed

by HR Professionals from IT sector with 16% of the population. Around 13% of the population are from

the ITeS and the HR Professional associations. Chi-square revealed a difference between these groups of

frequencies (X2=39.425; p=.000), helping to infer that the highest number of HR Practitioners are from

the manufacturing sector, which are considered as a good learning ground, having both the work issues

handling people and also the application of technology based HR systems. Contingency coefficient re-

vealed that a association exists amongst the frequencies (CC=738; p=.000), indicating that at 52%, HR

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Practitioners preferred recent passed HR postgraduates and opined that “If they have some experience in

HR area, it is good / any functional area is ok”; This was followed by nearly 28% of the HR Practitioners

informing that it is not a must that the HR graduates must be in possession of a valid HR based work ex -

perience. Lastly, at around 19%, HR Practitioners opining that “LD / RS / HR general work would be

good too” in the newly passed HR postgraduate.

Exhibit No 6

HR Practitioners amongst the designations and the HR Professional body membership

HR Professional Body Member-

ship

Designations of HR Practitioners Total

a b c d e f

NHRD n 1 3 4 6 2 0 16

% 100.0% 50.0% 33.3% 75.0% 100.0% 0.0% 48.5%

NIPM n 0 1 7 2 0 1 11

% 0.0% 16.7% 58.3% 25.0% 0.0% 25.0% 33.3%

SHRM n 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 25.0% 3.0%

ISTD n 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 25.0% 3.0%

MTHR n 0 2 1 0 0 1 4

% 0.0% 33.3% 8.3% 0.0% 0.0% 25.0% 12.1%

Totaln 1 6 12 8 2 4 33

% 3.03% 18.18% 36.36% 24.24% 6.06% 12.12% 100.0%

CC=.678; p=.108; X2= 28.063; p=.108

a= HR Executive; b = HR Officer / Asst manager HR; c = Dep manager HR / HR Manager / HR consultant; d = Sr HR Manager / Sr HR Consultant; e = Assoc Direc -tor HR / Director HR; f = Chairman / EC Member / Associate member.

The results reviled that, fem Professional Association, the HR practitioners, who participated in the study

included- NHRD-16; NIPM-11; SHRM-1; ISTD-1; MTHR-4, thus, making an significant number, to un-

derstand the rigour and relevance and appropriateness of HR teaching; training; and readiness of HR stu-

dents for todays World of work.

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Exhibit No 7

HR Practitioners amongst the work experience based groups and the changes in HR field

Changes in HR field Work experience based groups (in years) Total

a b c d e f

1 n 0 2 1 1 0 0 4

% 0.0% 20.0% 14.3% 33.3% 0.0% 0.0% 12.1%

2 n 1 2 4 0 0 2 9

% 16.7% 20.0% 57.1% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 27.3%

3 n 3 4 2 2 3 0 14

% 50.0% 40.0% 28.6% 66.7% 100.0% 0.0% 42.4%

4 n 0 2 0 0 0 2 4

% 0.0% 20.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 50.0% 12.1%

5 n 2 0 0 0 0 0 2

% 33.3% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 6.1%

Totaln 6 10 7 3 3 4 33

% 18.18 30.30 21.21 9.09 9.09 12.12 100.0%

CC=.689; p=.074; X2=29.772; p=.074

1= HRD - HRM / TD - LD / Recruiting practice / compensation / HR work is tech based; 2 = Technology in HR / Numbers in HR / Many new HR techniques & process have come up; 3 = More jargons / concepts / techniques / Titles & designations / con-cept of HR business partner; 4 = People's change perception of HR practices / Doc / Laws & regulations have changed; 5 = HR has become fast & monotonous / concepts, processes have changed / HR has become agile & fast.

a = 0 - 5 yrs; b = 6 to 10 yrs; c = 11 to 15 yrs; d = 16 to 20 yrs; e = 21 -25 yrs; f = 26 + yrs

Comparison amongst the designations of the HR practitioners has revealed that the largest group at 31%

of the HR Practitioners were found with 6 to 10 years of the work experience category. This was followed

by 22% of the population having 11 to 15 years of work experience. Lastly, at around 19% of the popula-

tion possessed 0 to 5 years of work experience. Chi-square revealed a non-significant difference between

these groups of frequencies (X2=29.772; p=.074), helping to infer that the largest group of HR Practition-

ers are from the 6 to 10 years of work experience group; followed by other groups. Contingency coeffi-

cient revealed that a non-significant association (CC = .689; p = .074), at 42.4% of the HR Practitioners,

16

mentioned the changes in HR scenario as " More jargons / concepts / techniques / Titles and

designations / concept of HR business partners". This was followed by 28% of the population mentioning

" Technology in HR / Numbers in HR / Many new HR techniques & process have come up". These were

followed by " HRD - HRM / TD - LD / Recruiting practice / compensation / HR work is tech based" and

"People's change perception of HR practices / Doc / Laws & regulations have changed" at around 12.%

each.

Discussion

A. Main findings in the study

1. At 31% of the HR Practitioners, we have the highest core competency in " Office skills / soft

skills / Adaptability / Quickly learn / Connect to People & Process / Ability to develop Advanced

HR knowledge'.

2. This was followed by 22% of the HR Practitioners with "Connect with business & people / KSA

of HR / Expertise in Technology & Numbers needed / Exposure to all types of Industries".

3. Lastly with 20% of the HR Practitioners with "Passionate about HR / Need for human touch /

Skill to deal with Numbers & Process in HR / Application and follow up of CAPA".

4. At 52%, HR Practitioners preferred recent passed HR postgraduates and opined that “If they have

some experience in HR area, it is good / any functional area is ok”;

5. One third of HR Practitioners informing that it is not a must that the HR graduates must be in

possession of a valid HR based work experience.

6. Around 34% of the total population found in the age group of 38 to 42 years, followed by age

group of 28 to 32 years with 25% of the population.

7. The highest number of HR Practitioners are from the 38 to 42 years of age groups, which are con-

sidered as a good productive age group, which has both the work experience and skill sets, the

drive to achieve and forms the balance between the youngsters who come in fresh from B-schools

on the one hand and the senior professionals on the other hand.

8. One third of the HR Practitioners opining that “Able to run the business / technology & latest up-

dates in HR / U/s business totally”, are to be noticed in new HR graduate.

9. HR Practitioners affiliated themselves to close to fifty percent to NHRD and one third to NIPM

with around 49% and 34% respectively.

10. At around 43% of the HR Practitioners, mentioned the changes in HR scenario as " More

jargons / concepts / techniques / Titles & designations / concept of HR business partners".

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11. One fourth of the Practitioners, believed 28% of the population mentioning " Technology in HR /

Numbers in HR / Many new HR techniques & process have come up".

12. These were followed by " HRD - HRM / TD - LD / Recruiting practice / compensation / HR

work is tech based" and "People's change perception of HR practices / Doc / Laws & regulations

have changed" at around 12.% each.

B. Hypothesis Test

Hypothesis 1 : There is no correlation amongst the gender, age group and the designations by the core HR

competency of the HR Practitioner. This hypothesis has not been accepted.

Hypothesis 2 : There is no relationship between the designations and the business competencies of the HR

Practitioner being hired. This hypothesis has been accepted (at p=.000 level).

Hypothesis 3 : There is no link between HR Practitioners designation and the choice of selection of fresh

HR recruits. This hypothesis has been accepted (at p=.000 level).

Hypothesis 4 : Knowledge and skill sets amongst fresh HR recruits and type of the industry are not

linked. This hypothesis has not been accepted.

Ambiguities in vision, mission, purpose, and core values of majority of the Indian B-Schools have further

worsened the prospects of management education in the country. It has been observed that there are fun-

damental flaw in strategic perspectives on managing especially the private B-Schools. Governing bodies

of most of the private B-Schools have been constantly focusing on unmindful expansion while neglecting

market realities, societal needs and stakeholders’ interests. Business education in India has grown mostly

as a channel to make quick profits rather than nurturing managers with required skills, ability, aptitude

and knowledge (Chaturvedi, 2012).

No wonder, the industry complains of unavailability of competent managers despite a large number of

management graduates joining the labor market every year. The society looks at the B-Schools with sus-

picion in terms of their abilities to create solutions to social problems. The students, on the other hand, are

reluctant to undertake management education due to seemingly uncertain employment opportunities after

graduation (Kumar and Jha, 2012).

Despite phenomenal expansion of Management education across the globe during last few decades, the B-

schools of the world need to focus on eight unmet needs of the MBA programme as espoused by Datar,

18

Garvin & Cullen (2010) in the following framework, so that the academicians and the students, remain

relevant in the times to come:

1. Gaining a global perspective: Identifying, analyzing and practicing how best to manage

when faced with economic, institutional and cultural differences across the countries.

2. Developing leadership skills: Understanding the responsibilities of leadership, developing

alternative approaches to inspiring, influencing and guiding others; learning such skills as

conducting a performance review and giving critical feedback; and recognizing the impact of

one’s actions and behaviors on others.

3. Honing integration skills: Thinking about issues from diverse, shifting angles to frame

problems holistically; learning to make decisions based on multiples, often conflicting, func-

tional perspectives; and building judgment and intuition into messy, unstructured situations.

4. Recognizing organizational realities and implementing effectively: Influencing others and

getting things done in the context of hidden agenda, unwritten rules, political coalitions, and

competing points of views.

5. Acting creatively and innovatively: Finding and framing problems; collecting, synthesizing

and distilling large volumes of ambiguous data: engaging in generative and lateral thinking;

and constantly experimenting and learning.

6. Thinking critically and communicating clearly: Developing and articulating logical, coher-

ent, and persuasive arguments; marshalling supportive evidences,; and distinguishing facts

from opinion

7. Understanding the role, responsibilities and purpose of business: Balancing financial and

non-financial objectives while simultaneously juggling the demands of diverse constituencies

such as shareholders, employees, customers, regulators and society

8. Understanding the limits of models and markets: Asking tough questions about risk by

questioning underlying assumptions and emerging patterns; seeking to understand what might

go wrong; learning about the sources of errors that lead to flawed decision making and the or-

ganizational safeguards that reduce their occurrence; and understanding the tension between

regulatory activities aimed at preventing social harm and market-based incentives designed to

encourage innovation and efficiency.

Conclusion

India, has seen structured investments and systematic efforts in the higher education field especially

management education. Outcomes of such initiatives are at times predictable and at times do not convey

19

sense. During these times of uncertainties, younger HR Academicians must be taken in and groomed by

the senior HR Academics in terms of teaching, training, research and other activities, so that the young

teacher feels confident and takes ownership of the task given as on today and also in the future. So also,

there are capacities which are underutilized, causing loss in revenues and on the other, the industry is de-

prived of skilled management graduate, leading to a scenario, in which there is excessive thrust on quan-

tity, rather than quality, which the management education, has be addressed and over-hauled from the

HR Academician's perspective.

Globalisation affects and effects anything and everything it touches in the industrial scenario. The HR

Practitioners are one such set of industry experts who are in touch with their happenings and are often

found to be genuinely informative and decisive in their approach to their profession and to their respec -

tive organisations. The perception of the corporate houses and their HR Practitioners, when it comes to

evaluating and hiring B-school graduates, views the graduate's skills, knowledge levels, competencies and

employability, with suspicion. This perception may have grown, over the years into a mental set thus be-

coming a practice. This practice may have lead to the creation a large pool of management graduates who

are un-employable.

To conclude, the study stresses the need and sustenance for the development and use of HR Practitioner's

perspective in designing, and development of HR management education, as an important component, in

the development of a holistic and industrially relevant syllabi, consisting of many value added skills,

practice and attitudinal set. Also up-date the HR student in their respective functional area of choice. This

would culminate in helping the HR Education, in persevering with all its stakeholders needs, well into

the next decade.

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