, NOTES ON EXAM FOCUS /EXAMINATION PACK
KEY AREAS
Basic psychology of learning
HR professional characteristics, function, purposes and trends
The role and the place of HR development in an organization
Overview of education, training, skills, training and development legislation in South Africa, implications and applicability(Skills
development Act, skills development levies Act)
Training and Development (T&D) structures, professionals concepts in S.A , training cycle purpose and concepts and failing
of T&D
Principles of learning and learning theories, and indicate how the principles should be applied in the design and delivery of
learning programmes. A well as learnership
Adult learning principles in relationship to learning programmes. Go through approaches to preparation.
Evaluation and duties of assessors
Management functions and record keeping of training
learning theories and barriers to learning
Educational, training and development (ETD) need analysis, outcome based learning program design, delivery learning
program, and assessment of learning achievement and evaluation of ETD effectiveness.
The different training rooms available for training to take place.
The process of planning and selecting an appropriate venue for training
Administration elements engaged when conducting training.
Quality management, quality assurance and the concept of strategy
Systematic approach to HRD.
Tertiary qualifications, NQF s and related councils and concept of competence.
DEFINE THE TERM HRD (2)
Human resource development (HRD) can be defined as follows: “Organized learning experiences provided by employers within
a specified period of time to bring about the possibility of performance improvement, personal growth, as well as enhance
employees’ employability orientation in order to satisfy the current and future needs of the organization.
IN YOUR ON WORDS EXPLAIN THE MAIN IMPORTANCE OR PURPOSE OF HRD (3)
To facilitate optimal employee performance by creating and making available training and development (T&D) and learning
experiences to the employees in the workplace.
Offer optimal performance through various T&D interventions, such as employee training, skills and technical training,
management development and employee orientation.
IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN THE ROLES, FUNCTIONS OR ACTIVITIES OF HRD IN AN ORGANISATION (5)
Training and development role- improving employee skills in order to perform a specific job to the required standard.
Primarily it enriches their mind with knowledge and skills relevant to the organization setup.
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, Development function- developing or growing employees and preparing them for different situations, task or roles that may
exist in an organization.
Employee orientation-Addressing new employees with basic information about the employer, employee benefits, the
organization’s vision, mission, goals and strategy, organizational values and culture, reporting and communication relationship
as well as general information that they need to perform their jobs satisfactorily.
Skills and technical training- focuses on the development of employee skills for optimal job performance, either because a
performance gap exists or because of technical changes that require retraining of the employees.
Coaching- offers guidelines and improvement on performance at work
Management development programmes- provide managers and supervisors with the competencies to be effective
managers.
Organizational learning and development interventions- use the concepts of behavioral science to augment organizational
performance and employee wellness and fulfilment.
Career development- is the process through which an individual’s work identity is formed and it begins with a person’s
earliest awareness of the ways in which people make a living, continues as they explore occupations and ultimately decide
what career to pursue, prepare and apply for a job and if they get a job then there is a need to advance in it.
DESCRIBE THE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO HRD (12 marks)
Conducting a proper occupational and job analysis as an input to the workforce planning process.
Conducting a proper occupational, job and competency profiling
Identifying and defining the skills requirements of the organization, as derived from the workforce planning,
process and the business strategic goals.
Conducting a skills audit to determine the gap between the actual skills of the current workforce and skills
required to sustain organizational capability.
Identifying pivotal talent pools and their education, training and development (ETD) needs.
Compiling a skills inventory of critical skills and competencies of pivotal talent pools.
Identifying skills programmes to address the skills gaps.
Drafting and implementing the workplace skills plan by means of a strategic HRD plan and management efforts.
Monitoring, evaluating and reporting on the HRD and workplace skills plans.
Establishing a quality assurance system to ensure effective and value added ETD interventions.
HOW DO YOU DETERMINE THE FUNCTION EFFECTIVENESS OF AN ORGANSATION OR HOW IS AN ORGANISATION FUNCTION MADE
EFFECTIVE (4)
Have an organizational vision- states what the company wants to be.
The organizational mission is the company’s purpose.
The organizational goals and objectives- expands on how the company will achieve its vision and mission.
The organization’s culture -values, beliefs, standards and perceptions in relationship to the organization
MAJOR CHANGES IN ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS LEGISLATION, FORCED ORGANIZATION’S TO CAREFULLY CONSIDER THEIR SERVICES
TO CUSTOMERS. AFTER CONSIDERING SUCH CHANGES, WOULD YOU SAY IT IS NECESSARY FOR A BUSINESS ORGANIZATION TO
ADAPT AND CHANGE TO MAINTAIN A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE? EXPLAIN YOUR ANSWERS (5).
Changes of needs occur on a daily basis and in order to keep-up, organizations need to increase their organizational
responsiveness.
By introducing flexible ways to conduct business, organizations can overcome their uncertainty about being able to deal
effectively with change.
This can be enhanced through:
Fostering profit gains,
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, also enhance their productivity,
innovation,
Performance and market share.
FOR THE ORGANIZATION TO BE DYNAMIC, GROWTH-ORIENTED AND FAST-CHANGING, IT SHOULD DEVELOP ITS HR, DISCUSS (8).
True.
Although positive personnel policies and programmes motivate the employees and buy their commitment and loyalty, these
efforts cannot keep the organization dynamic.
The role and importance of HRD in the organization. For an organization to be dynamic, it should have dynamic human
resources through the following reasons:
They must acquire capabilities continuously and adopt values and beliefs in accordance with the changing requirements of the
organization.
When employees use their initiative, take risks, experiment, innovate and make things happen, the organization may be said to
have an enabling culture.
Competent human resources can be dynamic in an enabling culture. Thus the organization can develop, change and excel only
if it has developed human resources. Therefore, HRD plays a significant role in making the human resources healthy, useful
and purposeful.
IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN FACTORS THAT DETERMINES A BUSINESS ORGANIZATION? (6)
People (two or more)
Making a conscious effort to coordinate tasks and functions.
To achieve a common goal (or a set of common goals).
NB: explain the factors
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRINCIPAL AND SUPPLEMENTARY ACTIVITIES IN HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (5)?
The principal activities entail human resource planning, employment equity, recruitment and selection,
compensation and benefits, employee relations, employee health and safety and HRD, which includes all training and
development activities.
The supplementary activities include organization and job design, performance appraisal and management, and
human resource information systems.
IDENTIFY THE SIX MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS (explain the factors) (5)
value proposition
Strategizing
organizing
leading
assuring quality
evaluation
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