Development of Human Resource for the Cooperative Movement in Malaysia

Abstract

Human resources development (HRD) is an important component for the success of any organization. Human resource management plays a crucial role in the implementation of strategic management in cooperatives. It has, however, not been accorded the importance it deserves in the cooperative institutions. The cooperative is one of the sectors, which renders services to the poor people and uplift s the socio-economic status of its members. A cooperative organization is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically controlled enterprise. Since its inception of the movement, there is a need for creating awareness and acceptance of human resource development to achieve the organizational goals and objectives. Cooperatives need to ensure that members and employees are regarded as human resources important for the sound development of the cooperative. The part of human resource management that specifically deals with training and development of the employees is essential. Effective training is an investment in the human resource of an organization, with both immediate and long range returns. Building strong membership and human resources, not necessarily capital, is the basis for building cooperatives that are both economically strong and sustainable. Conscious and well specified HRD principles in crucial areas like recruitment, placement, training, career progression, managerial grooming, etc., are lacking in most cooperatives. Therefore, this paper aims to discuss issues and challenges of human resource development and ways to enhance the human resource development particularly in the context of the Malaysian cooperative movement.