THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND STAFF PRODUCTIVITY IN AN ORGANIZATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF COLLEGE OF NIGERIA (ASCON), TOPO, BADAGRY, LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This research examined the examine the relationship between human resource development and staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria. The study adopted adopted a cross sectional survey design to sample the opinion of respondents. This method involved random selection of respondents who were administered with questionnaires. Relevant conceptual, theoretical and empirical literature was reviewed. The target population of the study comprised selected employees in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria. The questionnaire administered was three hundred and ten (310) copies and three hundred copies (300) retrieved which constitute the sample size. The descriptive and analytical approach was adopted using Chi-square to test and analyze the hypotheses earlier stated.Findings revealed that there is a significant impact of human resource development and staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria. The finding of the study also reveals that human resource development improves operational effective and efficient performance in  Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria. The findings of the study also reveal that there is a significant relationship between human resource development and staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria. The finding of the study also reveals that human resource development provides an opportunity to influence the attitude of employees positively towards attainment of personal and corporate goals. The findings of the study reveal that training and development increases employee accuracy and speed in performing a task. It was therefore concluded that human resource developmentis significantly related tostaff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria. It was recommended that the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) management should prioritize the issue of training of its employees because it is one of the best known ways of motivating employees, this can be attributed to the fact that employees learn relevant jobs necessary for the performance of their jobs when they attend training programmes.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

          The success of an organization is strongly linked to the performance of its employees. This is because employees are indispensable part of any corporation and are relied on for optimum productivity and organizational efficiency. To keep up with productivity and higher performance, the workforce must constantly be upgraded to match new technologies and processes. Sullivan (2011) expressed this when he stated that global competition has created a rapid pace of change and current skill sets must be continually updated and managers should identify employees with less optimal skills. Kareem (2017) also supports this when he stated that for about twenty years now, human resource development (HRD) had gained prominence in area of management development. This means that there is a need for firms to continuously boost and improve the abilities and general performance of their human resources.

          To meet this need, organizations aspiring for growth utilize an extensive portion of their resources on Human Resource Development (HRD). HRD is the integrated use of training and development, organizational development, and career development to improve individual,group and organizational effectiveness. HRD practices are designed to improve business performance by enhancing employees' overall skills, abilities and behaviour. HRD has grown extensively in the Nigerian Oil Industry. There are cases that show us how HRD has benefited companies in areas such as increased profit, productivity and improvement of performance for both firms and the people in them. Over the years, a number of articles have been published regarding the relationship between HRD and Employee Performance and although many Nigerian firms practice Human Resource Development, most still struggle with poor employee performance and organizational inefficiency. This imply that there are varying factors that influence the impact of HRD practices on workforce performance. Recent studies have shown the most common to be an employee’s ability or inability to acquire, internalize and use new knowledge.

          A systematic approach to human resource development will logically start with the employees’ job performance appraisal and then the establishment of a training policy and the required resources for its sustainability. What follows sequentially is an appraisal of training needs for which appropriate training is provided. The sequence of activities ends in an appraisal and feedback of the effectiveness of the training. This sequence is known as training Circle. As noted by Cole (2002) training requirement emanate from four sources; namely the job requirement of the newcomers, shortfall in employees’ performance appraisal, organizational changes and the employees expressed needs. It is imperative to indicate at this juncture that, training and development are two dimensions of human resource development.

          Training will be understood as any learning activity which is directed towards the acquisitions of specific knowledge and skills for the purpose of an occupation or task. The central theme in training is the task or job. On the other hand, development could be seen also, as any learning process or activity which is directed toward future needs rather than present needs. It is more concerned with career growth than immediate performance. It is however worth noting that both training and development are learning activities and are both concerned with the acquisition of knowledge, understanding, skills and attitude. They occur simultaneously to a large extent during the learning process (Shaw, 1996). Training could be conducted at the work site and in the context of performing actual job (on –the job training ) it may also occur or be conducted in a location specially designated for training outside usual work site (off-the job training) and finally, it could be a combination of on –and off-the – job training (apprenticeship training ). Training is actually supposed to be a continuous process (re-training).

          On the other hand, productivity is the ratio of total output to input. In other words, it is the relationship between units of labour input and units of output of a work man. As stated by Nwachukwu (1992), “productivity is the effective use of factors of production to produce goods and services.”It is pertinent to indicate pointedly from the foregoing, that what determines productivity is the effective utilization of factors of production and one key factor that determines the effective utilization of the factors of production is the availability of skills, specific knowledge and work attitude needed to do a job. In the same continuum, what basically determines the skills and specific knowledge content an employee possesses is the quality of training and retraining the employee has received.

          Examining previous research works, we deduced that an employee’s skills and performance is a function of his or her ability to identify, assimilate, transform and use external knowledge. Sadly, many Nigerian organizations do not know this and continue to experience performance challenges. It is against this background that it becomes important to discuss and redefine the relationship between Human Resource Development and staffproductivity inAdministrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

          The continued complaints of low productivity and the demonstrated lack of commitment and efficiency of the civil service has been an issue of great concern. Various efforts have been expended by researcher, in an attempt to find a solution to the problems of the civil service and also successive government administrations have consistently increased the remuneration and allowances paid civil employees, still in an attempt to boost the effectiveness and productivity of it workers. However their productivity levels are unarguably not commensurate with the increment. The question that may naturally emanate from these is, could there be other factors apart from money that may account for the ineffectiveness and unproductivity of an employee? And of course one of such key factors apart from pay that determines employees’ productivity is the employee’s skills and knowledge of the job and again what ultimately determines the amount of skills and specific knowledge an employee possess, is the level of training received by the employee. As strongly note by Inyang (2001), the civil service has a penchant recruiting untrained and unqualified personnel and does little or in most cases makes no attempt to train personnel even after recruiting them. It is based on this background that the present study seeks to examine the relationship between human resource development and staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

          The main objective of this study is to examine the relationship between human resource development and staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria. Specific objectives of the study include;

1. To determine the impact of human resource development on staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

2. To ascertain the factors that necessitates the training and development employees in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

3. To determine the strategies adopted by dministrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) to improved staff productivity.

4. To  examine the relationship between human resource development on staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria

1.4 Significance of the Study

          The study is significant from the point of view that no available literature or study so far his specifically focused on human resource development and productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria, none has examined the extent to which the civil service as an agent of government has contributed to the development and training of civil servants in Topo, Badagry, Lagos State.

          Thus, it is going to add to existing body of literature and extend the frontiers of knowledge practically. This research work will be a guide to scholars, policy makers, policy implementers and researchers and evidently serve as a guide to the government on how to promote effectivehuman resource development and productivity in the civil service particularly in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State civil service.

          Additionally, the students of Management Science will find this research valuable in the pursuit of academic work, especially for those aspiring to be managers or to own business organization, they will tend to use it to know the effect of staff training on the performance of an Organization.

1.5 Scope of the Study

          This study will attempt to explore the relationship between human resource development and staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria. It is also a study focused on the Civil service sector of the Nigerian economy. This study focus will cover all the employees of Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State.

1.6 Research Questions

          Thefollowing questions will guide the present study;

1. Does human resource development have impact on staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria?

2. What are the factors that necessitates the training and development employees in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria?

3. What are the strategies adopted by dministrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) to improved staff productivity?

4. Is there a significant relationship human resource development on staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria?

1.7 Hypotheses

          This study hypothesized the following

Hypothesis 1

H0: There is no significant impact of human resource development on staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria

: There is a significant impact of human resource development on staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.

Hypothesis 2

H0: There is no significant relationship between human resource development and staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria

H1: There is a significant relationship between human resource development and staff productivity in Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Topo, Badagry, Lagos State, Nigeria.