Importance Of Human Resources Research Articles

ON THE CULTIVATION OF GUAVA IN VENEZUELA

Both autochthonous and introduced fruit crops exploitation in Venezuela have suffered from a common history of neglect, and few moments of accomplishment. Although fruit utilization is a customary nutritional habit of Venezuela's inhabitants well before the pre-Columbian times, currently, the per capita consumption of fruits in the country lags slightly below the recommended daily intake. Most of the efforts put into place regarding fruit culture in Venezuela have been mostly devoted to pathogen analysis and control; biotechnological advances have been almost inexistent, other than the development of in vitro tissue culture protocols, and a very poor analysis of the guava germplasm present in the country. In this short report data on guava production, varieties, cultural practices, ethno-botanical aspects, as well as main pathogens and pests of the crop, will be presented. Some efforts, however, look promising since some institutions (remarkably, Universidad de Los Andes, through the GUAVAMAP project, and Universidad del Zulia, with its long tradition in the fields of phytopathology and agronomical sciences) are investing important financial and human resources to catalog the diversity of Venezuelan guavas, and in the molecular and phenotypical characterization of guava landraces all over the country and the remnants of the first introduced varieties commercially exploited in western Venezuela.

Employment and sociodemographic characteristics: a study of increasing precarity in the health districts of Belo Horizonte, Brazil

BackgroundThe fundamental importance of human resources for the development of health care systems is recognized the world over. Health districts, which constitute the middle level of the municipal health care system in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, deal with demands from all parts of the system. This research seeks to provide the essential features required in order to understand the phenomenon of increase in precarity of employment in these health districts.MethodsThe legal and human resource management documents used by the Municipal Health Secretariat of the City of Belo Horizonte were adopted as the corpus for this research. In order to analyse the changes in employment (2002–2006), the data were collected from ArteRH, a computerized database dealing specifically with data related to human resources, which began operating in 2001. The workers were classified into permanent and non-permanent groups, and their contractual rights were described. Employment dynamics and changes were examined, concentrating on the incorporation of workers and on their social and employment rights during the period under study. The comparative data for the two groups obtained were presented in frequency distribution tables according to type of employment, sex, age group, level of education and wages from 2002 to 2006.ResultsThere was a clear difference between the permanent worker and non-permanent worker groups as regards existing guaranteed employment rights and social security. The increase in the number of non-permanent workers in the workforce, the growing proportion of older workers among the permanently employed and the real wage reductions during the period from 2002 to 2006 are indicative of the process of growing precarity of employment in the group studied.ConclusionIt is a plausible supposition that the demand for health reforms, along with the legal limits imposed on financial expenditure, gave rise to the new types of contract and the present employment situation in the health districts in Belo Horizonte.

A cross-country review of strategies of the German development cooperation to strengthen human resources

BackgroundRecent years have seen growing awareness of the importance of human resources for health in health systems and with it an intensifying of the international and national policies in place to steer a response. This paper looks at how governments and donors in five countries – Cameroon, Indonesia, Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania – have translated such policies into action. More detailed information with regard to initiatives of German development cooperation brings additional depth to the range and entry doors of human resources for health initiatives from the perspective of donor cooperation.MethodsThis qualitative study systematically presents different approaches and stages to human resources for health development in a cross-country comparison. An important reference to capture implementation at country level was grey literature such as policy documents and programme reports. In-depth interviews along a predefined grid with national and international stakeholders in the five countries provided information on issues related to human resources for health policy processes and implementation.ResultsAll five countries have institutional entities in place and have drawn up national policies to address human resources for health. Only some of the countries have translated policies into strategies with defined targets and national programmes with budgets and operational plans. Traditional approaches of supporting training for individual health professionals continue to dominate. In some cases partners have played an advocacy and technical role to promote human resources for health development at the highest political levels, but usually they still focus on the provision of ad hoc training within their programmes, which may not be in line with national human resources for health development efforts or may even be counterproductive to them. Countries that face an emergency, such as Malawi, have intensified their efforts within a relatively short time and by using donor funding support also through new initiatives such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.ConclusionThe country case studies illustrate the range of initiatives that have surged in recent years and some main trends in terms of donor initiatives. Though attention and priority attributed to human resources for health is increasing, there is still a focus on single initiatives and programmes. This can be explained in part by the complexity of the issue, and in part by its need to be addressed through a long-term approach including public sector and salary reforms that go beyond the health sector.

Tracking working status of HIV/AIDS-trained service providers by means of a training information monitoring system in Ethiopia

BackgroundThe Federal Ministry of Health of Ethiopia is implementing an ambitious and rapid scale-up of health care services for the prevention, care and treatment of HIV/AIDS in public facilities. With support from the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, 38 830 service providers were trained, from early 2005 until December 2007, in HIV-related topics. Anecdotal evidence suggested high attrition rates of providers, but reliable quantitative data have been limited.MethodsWith that funding, Jhpiego supports a Training Information Monitoring System, which stores training information for all HIV/AIDS training events supported by the same funding source. Data forms were developed to capture information on providers' working status and were given to eight partners who collected data during routine site visits on individual providers about working status; if not working at the facility, date of and reason for leaving; and source of information.ResultsData were collected on 1744 providers (59% males) in 53 hospitals and 45 health centres in 10 regional and administrative states. The project found that 32.6% of the providers were no longer at the site, 57.6% are still working on HIV/AIDS services at the same facility where they were trained and 10.4% are at the facility, but not providing HIV/AIDS services. Of the providers not at the facility, the two largest groups were those who had left for further study (27.6%) and those who had gone to another public facility (17.6%). Of all physicians trained, 49.2% had left the facility. Regional and cadre variation was found, for example Gambella had the highest percent of providers no longer at the site (53.7%) while Harari had the highest percentage of providers still working on HIV/AIDS (71.6%).ConclusionOverall, the project found that the information in the Training Information Monitoring System can be used to track the working status of trained providers. Data generated from the project are being shared with key stakeholders and used for planning and monitoring the workforce, and partners have agreed to continue collecting data. The attrition rates found in this project imply an increased need to continue to conduct in-service training for HIV/AIDS in the short term. For long-term solutions, retention strategies should be developed and implemented, and opportunities to accelerate the incorporation of HIV/AIDS training in pre-service institutions should be explored. Further study on reasons why providers leave sites and why providers are not working on HIV at the sites where they were trained, in addition to our project findings, can provide valuable data for development of national and regional strategies and retention schemes. Project findings suggest that the development of national and region-specific human resources for health strategy and policies could address important human resources issues found in the project.

HR Roles Effectiveness and HR Contributions Effectiveness: Comparing Evidence from HR and Line Managers

As the importance of human resource increases to the business, so does also the need to ensure its effective management. This study compared HR and line managers’ evaluation of the effectiveness of the HR department in terms of its roles and contributions to the firm using a multi-perspective view of effectiveness. Survey responses from 108 HR and 140 line managers from 108 large manufacturing and service firms in Malaysia showed significant differences in the ratings by HR and line managers. HR managers, quite unsurprisingly, rated higher both dimensions of the HR effectiveness as compared to line managers. For a comprehensive evaluation of HRM, the study reaffirms the need for a client-centered evaluation of effectiveness given that self-assessment is always exaggerated.

Effects of employee trainings on the occupational safety and health in accommodation sector

In our age, it is a well-known reality that human resource is the key factor of organizational success. Companies’ power comes from the physical and mental strength of their workers. Therefore, sustainability of being powerful for an organization is tied to the physical and psychological health of its employees, and their knowledge and skills, as well. Since the importance of human resources on the organizational success has been realized, responsibility and authority of Human Resources Departments are broadened, especially in accommodation sector. Organizing Employee Trainings and maintaining Occupational Safety and Health are among the main functions of Human Resources Management departments. These two functions interact and they both serve the aim of protecting employees’ physical, psychological and social health. Within this paper, Effects of the Employee Training on the Occupational Safety and Health has been studied by an applied analysis in order to view the approach and practices of accommodation sector. As a result, it's been realized that employee trainings have a very positive effect on the occupational safety and health. Moreover, it's been understood that some of the potential training programs such as accident risks and occupational illnesses are inevitable.

Characterising human resources management practices in Portugal: an empirical analysis

The importance of human resources as a fundamental channel towards the competitiveness and sustainability of firms is now theoretically unchallenged. This article provides an overall characterisation of the main human resources management (HRM) practices implemented in Portugal and compares them with the benchmark models proposed in the literature. To evaluate the degree to which HRM practices diverge from these benchmark models, this article relies on the analysis of five criteria: i) How do the main HRM practices fit the existing management models (familiar, professional or mixed); ii) How does the HRM conform to a work organisation of the matricial type; iii) To identify whether the role of HRM is essentially administrative or strategic; iv) To identify where the responsibility for HRM lies within the firms operating in Portugal; and v) To characterise the relation between HRM and work organisation in Portugal. Drawing on a representative sample of firms operating in Portugal, we identify three clusters that allow us to characterise and analyse the stylised HRM practices implemented in Portugal (network-based, familiar-based or bureaucratised). Results show contrasting management patterns, which can be interpreted as different stages of evolution in terms of HRM practices in Portugal.

Primate Seed Dispersal and its Potential Role in Maintaining Useful Tree Species in the Taï Region, Côte-d'Ivoire: Implications for the Conservation of Forest Fragments

As a result of forest modification, primates are increasingly having to rely on fragments; so too are the human populations that have historically relied on continuous forest for critical resources. The role of primates in seed dispersal is increasingly understood to have significant unique effects on plant demography and forest regeneration. Our aim in this paper is to explore the potential for monkey seed dispersers to maintain the utility of forest fragments for humans through seed dispersal in the Taï region, western Côte-d'Ivoire. We established a list of fruit species whose seeds are dispersed by seven of eight monkey species occurring in the Taï National Park by using primary data and published accounts of their fruit diet, and determined the abundance of human-used and monkey-dispersed tree species in forest fragments in the broader Taï region. The monkeys of the Taï National Park consumed 75 tree species. Of this total set of 75 species, 52 (69%) were dispersed almost exclusively by monkeys and were found in neighboring forest fragments. Of the 52 fruiting forest tree species that are dispersed by Taï monkeys, 25 (48%) have some utility to local inhabitants suggesting that maintaining populations of primates is important not only for forest regeneration, but also for human populations that rely on forest resources. The conservation of primate species is a critically important goal in itself, but by working to ensure their protection in forest fragments, we certainly protect indirectly the seed dispersal of important human resources in these fragments as well.

Nuevas tendencias en gestión de recursos humanos en las Administraciones públicas: ¿están cambiando las reglas del juego?

Given the importance of Human Resources, the local administration has opted for the revocation of several values associated to public management. Following the New Public Management tradition, the stress on efficiency and productivity, associated to instruments such as the professional development evaluation, can compromise the value of public employees. Five initiatives compose the new tendencies in Human Resources Management in Public Administration: the Management Based on Competencies, the Classic Human Resources Evaluation, the Knowledge Management, the Information Systems Development, and finally, the Internal Communication Role.

City design management as a local competitiveness factor

This paper raises the importance of the built environment and aesthetic matters in the debate on the competitiveness of cities. The quality of a living environment is an important factor in creating competitiveness and the reputation of places. Cities compete for the favours of inhabitants, companies and visitors, and an attractive urban milieu could attract important and creative human resources to a city. This paper defines the concept of city design management as a conceptual way of emphasising the importance of designing an attractive living environment. City design management means all-inclusive managing of the city design. It gives a city the opportunity to be distinguished from other cities. The elements of city design management are city topography, general impression, presentation and management.

Human resources as facilitators of the adoption of information and communication technologies

This paper studies the importance of human resources, among other factors, as facilitators of the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). We have worked with a sample of 1685 Spanish firms. The results of our analyses (conditioned probit) show that higher employee qualifications, the use of related technologies and greater firm size have a positive impact on both the adoption of ICTs and the volume of investment made.

Toward a Theory of Reputation in Organizations

In everyday life, as well as in work organizations, we engage in frequent and quite comfortable discourse about the nature of reputations, and wealso see personal reputation used as a basis for important human resources decisions (e.g., promotions, terminations, etc.). Unfortunately, despite its recognized importance, there has been very little theory and research on personal reputation in organizations published in the organizational sciences. The present paper attempts to address this need by proposing a conceptualization of personal reputation in organizations. In this conceptualization, reputation is presented as an agreed upon, collective perception by others, and involves behavior calibration derived from social comparisons with referent others that results in a deviation from the behavioral norms in one's environment, as observed and evaluated by others. Implications of this conceptualization are discussed, as are directions for future research.

Strategy and HRM in nonprofit organizations: evidence from Canada

Unlike other sectors, human resources (HR) of nonprofit organizations cannot be replaced with investment in physical capital. Moreover, the importance of HR has been further heightened by changes in the operating environment of the sector. Using the Miles and Snow (1978) strategic typology, this paper explores strategic HRM in public service nonprofits by examining the importance attached to HRM based on their strategic types. The results of a survey of 79 nonprofits and 7 case studies suggest that strategic HRM was not evident in nonprofit organizations. Defenders, analysers, and prospectors were not different from reactors in the importance they attach to recruitment, compensation and labour relations. However, training was found to be more important among defender than prospector nonprofits. The lack of alignment between HRM and strategy highlights the need for nonprofits to find a way to address their HR capacity challenges and enhance effectiveness of strategy.

Habitat suitability index models for the juvenile soles, Solea solea and Solea senegalensis, in the Tagus estuary: Defining variables for species management

Habitat suitability index (HSI) models were used to map habitat quality for the sympatric soles Solea solea and Solea senegalensis in the Tagus estuary, Portugal. The selection of input variables to be used in these models is crucial since the recollection of such data involves important human and time resources. Various combinations of variables were developed and compared. Habitat maps were constructed for the months of peak abundance of S. solea and S. senegalensis consisting of grid maps for depth, temperature, salinity, substrate type, presence of intertidal mudflats, density of amphipods, density of polychaetes and density of bivalves. The HSI models were run in a Geographic Information System by reclassifying the habitat maps to a 0–1 suitability index scale. Following reclassification, the geometric mean of the suitability index values for each variable was calculated by grid cell, using different combinations of variables, and the results were mapped. Models performance was evaluated by comparing model outputs to data on species’ densities in the field surveys at the time. Further model testing was performed using independent data. Results show that there are two areas that provide the highest habitat quality. The model that combined density of amphipods and the abiotic variables had the highest correlation with the distribution of S. solea while the combination of density of polychaetes and the abiotic variables had the highest correlation with S. senegalensis distribution. These variables should be taken into account in future management plans, since they indicate the main nursery grounds for these species.

Sampling: the weak link in the sanitary quality control system of agricultural products

To ensure a high level of consumer protection, the European Union has in the past years published several regulations setting very low limits for a given number of food contaminants (pesticides, mycotoxins, heavy metals) in many agricultural products (cereals, oilseeds, dry fruits, coffee, spices, etc). These new regulations regarding the sanitary quality of agricultural products, compel both economic operators and officials of different EU member states to set up sampling plans and rigorous analyses aimed at checking whether a product lot complies with the required standards prior to its release on the market. While the laboratory analysis management today is outstanding thanks to the validated and efficient detection methods and procedures available for quality assurance in laboratories (accreditation), this is not necessarily true of the sampling operation, which seems to be the weak link in the sanitary control system for agricultural products. The sampling operation is often the main source of error when assessing the sanitary quality of a lot of agricultural commodities, with both commercial (downgrading of the product) and sanitary (marketing of a product which poses a health risk for the consumer) consequences. Therefore, it is essential for the operators involved to be aware of the significance and difficulties of the sampling operation, which requires important equipment and human resources. Furthermore, drawing up specific standards and guidelines, as well as setting up quality assurance procedures, at the level in charge of carrying out this delicate and important operation, are necessary.

Privatization/Disinvestment/Closures in Haryana—Case Study of Hansi Spinning Mill, Hansi

The paper aims at highlighting the methodology adopted in liquidation of a cooperative institution registered under the Cooperative Societies Act, 1984. It also provides an insight into the time taken, problems faced and strong will and efforts required in executing the whole exercise and bringing it to a logical end. This article seeks to identify certain important organizational and human resources related issues which need to be addressed properly in the context of the Indian economy.

Improving human resources management: some practical questions and answers

Practically nobody denies the importance of human resources (HR) to company management. There are many works which show that companies’ managing their HR in a specific way, obtain positive business results. However, some of those studies select, a priori, organisations with a certain type of HR practice in order to assess their impact on performance. This work, with no prior knowledge of their human resources management (HRM), analyses the HRM in a number of accommodation establishments, using three up‐to‐date approaches to that managerial function as a reference. The results indicate that many of the establishments do not follow the proposals of those approaches. Therefore, based on those results, the focus is on those three perspectives to make recommendations that enable the establishments to improve their HRM.

Strategic HR orientation and firm performance in India

This study tests the relationship between strategic HR orientation and firm performance. The study has been conducted to add to the growing empirical evidence in this field. The study has been carried out in the Indian setting, where the importance of human resources has gained currency in the last decade. Results show that there is a significant relationship between strategic HR orientation and firm performance.

EU to Macedonia Transfer of Knowledge on Power Electronics

The paper presents development of undergraduate and advanced postgraduate courses on Power Electronics at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, SS. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Macedonia. A modem and well-equipped laboratory is also establishes. The courses have been developed under the Tempus Phare Program of the European Commission and the lectures were given by eight professors from five EU universities. This knowledge and technology transfer from EU to Macedonia on power electronics helps the development of Macedonia industry and economy. The trained students and faculty staff, and the established links between the Macedonia and EU universities and industries established in this project, strengthens the important human resources infrastructure for industrial development

Modelling Continuing Professional Development in an Innovative Context

Being one step ahead of your competitors with incorporation of new knowledge in the products puts focus on the importance of human resources as a significant resource for industrial development. A major competitive parameter in knowledge society is engineering competence, especially in the industry subject to very fast innovation processes. Continuing professional development of engineering staff is therefore very important. A model for the continuing education process is described. The elements of the model and their interaction are discussed. Part of the modelling is based on interviews with development engineers from the very dynamic mobile communication industry. Some examples of CPD-programmes are described.