NHRD Journal - National HRD Network

FROM A SAPLING TO A FOREST:
THE SAGA OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF HRM IN INDIA
UDAI PAREEK and T.V. RAO
Udai Pareek, a Distinguished
Professor at the Institute of
IHMR, is an internationally
acclaimed academician and a
living legend in HRD. He is on the
Management/Governing Boards
of the Academy of HRD, IIHMR,
ISABS, JIM and several other
organizations. He has authored
and edited several books and has
contributed a large number of
research papers to national and
international journals.
Dr T V Rao is currently Chairman
of T V Rao Learning Systems and
Chairman of Academy of Human
Resources Development,
Ahmedabad. He was Professor at
the Indian Institute of
Management, Ahmedabad, for
over 20 years beginning 1973. He
has also worked as L&T
Professor of HRD at XLRI,
Jamshedpur, during 1983-85. Dr.
Rao is the Founder President of
the National HRD Network and
was President of the Indian
Society for Applied Behavioral
Science (ISABS). Dr. Rao has
several publications to his credit.
This is a personal account of the change the authors
introduced in one organization through evolving,
experimenting and implementing HRD, spreading it
to other organizations and its diffusion and
institutionalization at the national level. While the
authors romanced with HRD as a part of change, they
developed commitment and became life partners of
HRD in India. Both singly, and together, they have been
contributing to the development of HRD in India.
The Beginnings
In 1973 after joining the Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad as the Faculty, Udai worked with late
Professor S. K. Bhatacharyya on the problems in Larsen
and Toubro subsequent to its reorganization by Professor
Bhatacharyya. The main problem was conflict between
two independent roles created in the organization (DGM
Planning and DGM Operations). While doing role
clarification and role negotiation exercises, Udai realized
the need of working on the larger issues of development
of people. With TV Ra, later joining the Faculty of IIM,
Ahmedabad, Udai shared this concern, and both TV and
Udai decided to work on designing a new way of
developing people in an organization.
They made a proposal to the Chairman. Shri N.M. Desai,
CEO of L & T, arranged the discussion with the top group,
and accepted the proposal to try out the new system of
developing people. The authors would like to pay tribute
to the foresightedness of Shri N. M. Desai in agreeing to
experiment with a new system.
L&T Experiment: Its Main Thrust
After extensive interviews and discussions (including
with A. M. Naik currently the Chairman of L&T who was
a Manager at that time) the authors prepared a proposal
to introduce what they called human resource
development. This was in mid 70's. They had not come
across any such term in the western literature, and
appropriately thought of re-orienting personnel system
from administration to development. A comprehensive
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November 2007 NHRD Journal