INTRODUCTION
Development is ‘Good change’ according to Chambers (1997), but this is not as straightforward as it sounds. For example, who decides which change is good? Thomas (2000) explains three ways the word ‘development’ is used.
Development has a history of being linked with capitalism with ‘Good Change’ commonly associated with industrialisation and modernisation on the basis of free markets. Therefore, development is closely bound with ideologies and values which will be examined considering its various changes towards better realization of human values.
Under the context of this work we shall examine development in various aspect of human values such as:
– Management development
– Technological development
– Economic development etc
Management development may be defined as – company or organization extended or sponsored education, or as training and educating employees of an organization, institution, or industry, to empower them with required skills, authority, and position to be able to manage rapid changes that their unit is likely to face. To define, create, and exploit the organization’s resources in this way requires the managers to possess a portfolio of suitable personal competencies of their own. Creating this portfolio is what management development is all about.
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT
Management development is the structured process by which managers enhance their skills, competencies and/or knowledge, via formal or informal learning methods, to the benefit of both individual and organisational performance.
The effective management of both private and public sector organisations is widely perceived to be of critical importance to organisational success and, more broadly, to national economic well-being. Some critics, moreover, argue that the UK has certain deficiencies in respect of the qualities and skills of its management base when compared with managers at the global level.
This means that thedevelopment of managers to help sustain their performance at the highest levels possible is a particularly crucial element of wider organisational learning strategies.
Managing involves the planning, organisation, co-ordination and implementation of strategies, programmes, tactics and policies in respect of people, resources, information, operations and finance. Management development interventions may therefore cover any or all of these areas, depending on the level and nature of the management role as well as other factors such as the stage of the individual’s career.
Management techniques are continually evolving, organizations are changing radically and restructuring in an effort to meet changed external and internal environments and improve their performance. The realization of this truth led to the advancement of management development as an important aspect of management. Managementdevelopment advances the need to educate, train, and develop the skills of managers, supervisors, and even workers of an organization which eventually reflects on the realization of human values.
Many business organizations have recognized that there are several incentives in investing in management education, training and development. The reason being: Whenever vacancies arise, they would be in a position to promote from their own cadre than to recruit skilled managers from outside, thus promoting loyalty among the workforce; Job satisfaction keeps people from looking towards greener pastures, thus reducing labor turnover; The organization would be able to attract best talent if it maintains a good reputation for training and development of its workers.
Management techniques are continually evolving, organizations are changing radically and restructuring in an effort to meet changed external and internal environments and improve their performance. The realization of this truth led to the advancement of management development as an important aspect of management. Managementdevelopment advances the need to educate, train, and develop the skills of managers, supervisors, and even workers of an organization which eventually reflects on the realization of human values.
Many business organizations have recognized that there are several incentives in investing in management education, training anddevelopment. The reason being: Whenever vacancies arise, they would be in a position to promote from their own cadre than to recruit skilled managers from outside, thus promoting loyalty among the workforce; Job satisfaction keeps people from looking towards greener pastures, thus reducing labor turnover; The organization would be able to attract best talent if it maintains a good reputation for training and development of its workers.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
This is a term that economists, politicians, and others have used frequently in the 20th century. The concept, however, has been in existence in the West for centuries. Modernization, Westernization, and especially industrialization are other terms people have used while discussing economic development. Economic development has a direct relationship with the environment.
Whereas economic development is a policy intervention endeavor with aims of economic and social well-being of people, economic growth is a phenomenon of market productivity and rise in GDP. Consequently, as economist Amartya Sen points out, “economic growth is one aspect of the process of economic development”
This usually refers to the adoption of new technologies, transition from agriculture-based to industry-based economy, and general improvement in living standards.
According to Ranis et al., economic growth and developmentis a two-way relationship. According to them, the first chain consists of economic growth benefiting human development, since economic growth is likely to lead families and individuals to use their heightened incomes to increase expenditures, which in turn furthers humandevelopment and values to its existence. At the same time, with the increased consumption and spending, health, education, and infrastructure systems grow and contribute to economic growth.
In addition to increasing private incomes, economic growth also generate additional resources that can be used to improve social services (such as healthcare, safe drinking water, etc.). By generating additional resources for social services, unequal income distribution will be mitigated as such social services are distributed equally across each community, thereby benefiting each individual. Concisely, the relationship between human development and economic development can be explained in three ways. First, increase in average income leads to improvement in health and nutrition (known as Capability Expansion through Economic Growth). Second, it is believed that social outcomes can only be improved by reducing income poverty (known as Capability Expansion through Poverty Reduction). Lastly, social outcomes can also be improved with essential services such as education, healthcare, and clean drinking water (known as Capability Expansion through Social Services).
Yet others believe that a number of basic building blocks need to be in place for growth and development to take place. For instance, some economists believe that a fundamental first step toward development and growth is to address property rights issues, otherwise only a small part of the economic sector will be able to participate in growth. That is, without inclusive property rights in the equation, the informal sector will remain outside the mainstream economy, excluded and without the same opportunities for study.
TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
Technology development is generally regarded as a catalyst for national development, because it offers among other things, the necessary support for change in all the major sectors of the economy, most especially in agricultural and industrial sectors. Therefore, it is unarguably the prime source of change, that is, of innovations and adaptations required for improving production methods needed to propel growth and development.
According to Titanyi (1985), ‘science and technology represent power instruments of change which can assist in the economic, social, and cultural development of people’ such that the superiority of the rich countries in terms of their living standards, better health services and educational facilities is generally attributed to the breathtaking advances in science and technology which has taken place in the industrialized countries during the last two hundred years.
On the other hand, is the gradual growth of a skill to become more advanced or the process of producing a more advanced product (Hornby 2002). Consequently, technology development is the transformation of ideas to practical skills, which are concerned with the production and transformation of raw materials into finished goods. Onipede (2003) opined that technology development pertains to development witnessed through industrial activities; he went further to state that these activities involved the processing of manufacturing goods on a large scale using extensive plant and equipment which were all products of technology.
With the above definitions in mind, therefore, technology development might be interpreted to mean the various transitional processes in the art and craft techniques and traditions, of blacksmithing, iron and wood carving, canoe building among several other indigenous ways by which people of different cultures have explored to control and maximize the use of their environment.
Therefore, the traditional skills and techniques used in the production of arts and crafts, blacksmithing, and iron smelting, carding and weaving, brewery among others can be summed up as indigenous technology in Nigeria.
The Importance of Organizational Development
Organizational development is the use of organizational resources to improve efficiency and expand productivity. It can be used to solve problems within the organization or as a way to analyze a process and find a more efficient way of doing it. Implementing organizational development requires an investment of time and money. But when you understand its importance, you can justify the costs.
Organizational Change
The process of organizational development identifies areas of company operations where change is needed. Each need is analyzed, and the potential effects are projected into a change management plan. The plan outlines the specific ways in which the change will improve company operations, who will be affected by the change and how it can be rolled out efficiently to employees. Without organizational development as part of change management, a company would have a difficult time developing effective change management programs.
Growth
Organizational development is an important tool in managing and planning corporate growth. An organizational development analysis brings together sales projections and consumer demand to help determine the rate of company growth. This information is used to alter the company business plan and plan the expansion and use of company resources such as personnel and the distribution network to accommodate future growth.
Work Processes
When a company is involved in organizational development, it analyzes work processes for efficiency and accuracy. Any quality control measures required to attain company standards are put in place. Evaluators analyze duplicate process, or processes that can be combined for greater efficiency, and develop and implement detailed plans on how to improve company methods.
Product Innovation
Product innovation requires the analysis of several kinds of information to be successful. Organizational development is critical to product innovation because it can help analyze each element of product development and create a method for using it effectively. Some of the processes that come together in organizational development to assist in product innovation are competitive analysis, technology development, consumer preferences, target market research, manufacturing capabilities analysis and patents and trademarks.
CONCLUSION
Development encompasses the need and the means by which to provide better lives for people within a community or an organization, it includes not only economic growth, although that is crucial, but also human development—providing for health, nutrition, education, and a clean environment. This as regard management, organizational, economic and technological plays a vital role in a positive change towards better realization of human values.
REFERENCES
Morrison Okita S 1980. The Developing Economics and Japan . University of Tokyo, pp. 99-116.
Obwona, M. & Guloba, M. (2009) ‘Poverty Reduction Strategies During Post-conflict Recovery in Africa’, JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ECONOMIES, 18, AERC SUPPLEMENT 1: i77–i98.