A PEEP INTO THE HISTORY OF HRD IN INDIA
T V Rao
October 22, 1974 Larsen & Toubro writes to Udai Pareek of Indian
Institute of Management Ahmedabad to review the performance appraisal system
and suggest to make it more effective. Udai Pareek and T. V. Rao interview
about 40 officers (GMMs, JGMs, DGMs, Managers, Covenanted Officers and
Supervisors) from L&T and review the system. On the basis of their review
Pareek and Rao suggest the introduction of an Integrated Human Resources
Development system to include Performance appraisal, Potential appraisal, Career
Planning and Development, Feedback and counselling, training and Organization
Development. To quote their report "We recommend that Performance
appraisal, Potential Appraisal, Feedback and counselling, Career Development
and Career Planning and Training and Development get distinct attention as
unique parts of an integrated system which we call the Human resources
Development System". (Nowhere in international literature was the term
Human Resources Development System known to have been used till then. Later we
discovered that Len Nadler around this time used the term in an ASTD conference
to mean Training and Education)
Pareek and Rao's report further stated "This system may either be
treated as a sub-system under the Personnel (Human Resources) function or may
be developed as a separate function, with strong linkages with the Personnel
(Human Resources) system.... While we recommend the development of an
integrated HRD System in L&T, we would like to point out that a lot of
work, effort, and commitment would be required for this purpose. Introduction
of a truncated system may defeat the purpose for which the system to be
installed." It was Udai Pareek who introduced the term Human Resources as
senior consultant of the project.
The report was presented to the Board in the presence of Holk Larsen. N
M Desai, Mr. Larsen and the Board accepted the report in toto and decided to
implement it. An implementation Task force was formed in L&T with Mr.
Govind Advani as Convener of the HRD Implementation Task Force. Dr. D F Pereira
was appointed as D G M, HRD and the new department was created with Mr. S R
Subramniam as Vice-president Personnel and OD. In October 1975 after
taking a decision to implement HRD system, N M Desai requested Pareek and Rao
team to look into the other components of HR system. In their report submitted
in 1977 Pareek and Rao outlined the other components and HR system and also
outlined 14 principles underlying the system. These principles lift up the HR
function to new heights and gave it a higher role in managing the entire
organization set up including mechanism of structuring, integration of the
business, differentiation, and self renewal.
It was around this time Udai Pareek while addressing the top management
of State Bank of India at Hyderabad Staff College introduced to them the
concept of HRD. After listening to Udai Pareek the top management of SBI
decided to introduce the HRD systems and also start a HRD Department in SBI.
The Associates of SBI stole the March and appointed HRD Managers in their Banks
and a year later SBI appointed Mr. Shanmugam as a CGM to head the HRD
Department. In 1977 T. V. Rao along with Udai Pareek conducted a series of
programs to training HRD Managers of Associate banks of SBI on the HRD concepts
in a program titled as Managing Motivation for Development by IIMA.
In 1978 Udai Pareek and SK Bhattacharya recommended the establishment of
a HRD Department in Bharat Earth Movers Limited Bangalore (BEML). BEML invited
Prof. T V Rao from IIMA to join and head the HR Department. Dr. Rao joined BEML
as advisor in General Manager's capacity to establish the HRD function and
agreed to stay for a year and train up the subsequent team. In the same year
using his s experiences at BEML, Rao and Pareek held a seminar at IIMA on the
new HR function. This is the first national workshop to disseminate the HRD
concepts. The various chapters written for this workshop formed the subsequent book by Pareek and Rao
(Designing and Managing HR systems published by Oxford & IBH see for latter
version of this book). Anil Khandelwal was one of the participants in this workshop besides Mr. Shanmugam from SBI.
In 1981 T V Rao wrote an article on "HRD Old wine in a new
Bottle explaining the concept and origins of HRD in India
(see: http://iimahd.ernet.in/faculty-and-research/research-and-publication/working-papers.html&page=198&rnp_id=wp00447)
In 1983 I was invited to join XLRI as L&T Professor of HRD. I agreed
to join provided that XLRI agrees to set up a center for HRD and also conduct
an annual seminar on HRD as a part of the Chair. Fr. Romuald D'Souza agreed
with my suggestion. Fr. E Abraham registered for his Ph. D. to work with me at Gujarat University as a candidate through IIMA. I went to start the Center and
the center was inaugurated by N M Desai along with S R Subramaniam and D F
Pereira in February 1984. We mobilised some funds and organizations like IOC,
State Bank of Patiala become members of the Centre.
In 1984 Ravi Matthai died and I felt I had to get back to IIMA to
continue the work started by Ravi. I was very disappointed with the way HRD is
taking shape. T&D people renamed themselves as HRD and personnel
departments began to re-title themselves as HR Departments without
understanding the philosophy of HRD as envisaged by us. I can't let this go on.
We organised a national seminar on HRD as a part of the L&T Chair. Dr
Pereira facilitated this. Udai Pareek was in Indonesia working with Rolf Lynton
and helping the Ministry of Health on a HTRD project.
I used the seminar as an opportunity to sow the seeds of starting a
professional body to continue the work I started at XLRI. I was aware that the
Centre for HRD would not continue the way we envisaged as Fr. Abraham was
moving to Ahmedabd to complete his Ph. D. The only way is to have a body and IIMA already refused my suggestion to start a HRD centre (and also
Entrepreneurship center) earlier as a part of the Committee for Future
Directions (headed by Dr. Rangarajan). IIMA's argument was that if every
faculty specializing in an area wants to start a centre there will be too many
centres and IIMA can't contain. Years after this IIMA started an incubation
centre.
On the last day of the seminar at Mumbai on March 2nd, 1985 I proposed
that we continue to learn from each other independent of XLRI, IIMA and
L&T. The concept of an association was floated and learning Frome each
other was initiated in the last sessions. Rajen suggested the concept of
Network and we decided to alter call ourselves National HRD Network. I returned
back to IIMA end of March 1985 and Fr. Abraham joined me back to complete his
Ph. D. The Centre for HRD used to run from St. Xavier's Loyola School and Fr.
Abraham used to steer it and we both together toured round the country next two
years relentlessly and made sure that the chapter conceptualized in 1984 became
active. Thanks to IIMA, I was asked to review the PGP and subsequently Chair it.
It helped me to travel to Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai.
Consultancy with SAIL helped me to travel to other places. Khandelwal, KK
Verma, Rajen Gupta supported from Ahmedabad and Baroda and Chandrasekhar and
PVR Murthy from Chennai. L&T and PVR played a significant role to
facilitate my travel to Chennai. We floated programs using the name of the
Centre for HRD and promoting NHRDN. Finally with the help of Mr. K K Nair of
AMA we registered NHRDN at Ahmedabad in 1986 as a trust and Society. Abraham
and I were the first members. For almost two years between 1985 and early 1987
we had no membership fee and enrolled anyone interested. We used to print 2,000 newsletters from CHRD and mail it free. We mobilized sponsorship for each issue
from organizations I was consulting. State Bank of Patiala, Sundaram Clayton,
MMTC, HPCL, L&T and a number of organizations used to sponsor and we mail
the newsletter free. The registration address given was wing No 14 IIMA (where
my office was located). We announced the first conference in Chennai and
Chandrashekar of L&T ECC facilitated it. KK Verma, Anil, Fr Abraham and T V
Rao formed the committee to mobilise papers and publish them to be handed over
for the conference. We started the conference with a CEO conclave on the first
day. Economic Times brought out a special edition of the paper for the
conference. I talked to the editor Manu Shroff who was a former colleague at IIMA
and got him to do two special editions for the conference. Media were very
helpful. The first conference held in 1987 was big hit. Over 200 delegates
attended including several CEOs, and Civil servants from Gujarat and other
places attended. M R R Nair who attended the conference showed a lot of
interest. We spotted him as the next President and he readily agreed to Chair
the next Conference at Delhi and subsequently to become the President.
It is during his President-ship, we organised a Mission-Vision workshop.
It is in this workshop the idea of an Institute to promote the objectives of
NHRDN was conceptualized as we realised that the NHRDN can’t achieve its
objectives as a professional body. The Academy of HRD was born. It was also
decided to make a separately registered Institution to promote research. The
secret behind the decision was the delay in accounts being submitted by various
chapters creating issues in NHRDN’s governance. We did not want AHRD to be
blocked by the difficulties faced by NHRDN. Also we needed to mobilize funds
for the Institution which was possible only when it was registered as a
separate body.
