Contemporary State of Human Resource Development in Bangladesh: Perspectives from Employees
Sheikh Rashid Bin Islam

Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies, Kobe University, Japan

Abstract

Human capital is one of the most vital driving forces for any organization. The responsibility of increasing the quality of human capital or human resources (HR) of an organization is often termed human resource development (HRD). Through HRD, organizations develop the skills, knowledge, and abilities of their HR, which in turn assists the organizations to be more effective. Hence, HRD can be considered of great importance for both organizations and HR themselves. Considering its importance, it can be highly recommended for all organizations to carry out HRD, especially those in developing countries. However, many organizations in developing countries have not been able to provide an adequate amount of HRD. The reason behind this lack of HRD is often overlooked. The case is quite similar for Bangladesh, a developing country, with a large working population yet a low Human Capital Index score. Moreover, there have been very few or close to no studies conducted on this issue in Bangladesh, hence leaving a knowledge gap. This study intends to fill this gap by understanding the contemporary state of HRD in Bangladesh from the perceptive of employees. It does so by utilizing a sequential explanatory design mixed methodology. The sample size for this study is 168. The results of the study show that the employees want more opportunities for HRD, yet very few opportunities are provided by their employers. The employees feel their employers do so for-profit maximization, but they also feel that the employers fail to understand how HRD could further maximize profit due to more qualified HR. In conclusion, the employees feel their employers should provide more HRD opportunities, which in turn will benefit them and their employers alike.

Keywords: Human Resource, Human Resource Development, Bangladesh

Topic: Human resources management