Human resource practices and their effects on print production at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology press

Abstract

The issue of human resource management has become paramount and complex due to current trend of business competition resulting from globalisation and trade liberalisation. The purpose of this study was to examine the human resource management (HRM) practices of the University Printing Press of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (UPK) and how they affect print production. The study focused on four HRM practices namely, resource planning, recruitment and selection, training and development and performance appraisal. In gathering data for the study, quantitative method was adopted as study design for the research. Questionnaire and interview schedule were the instruments used to collect data in 2009. The entire population of the press made up of 43 permanent staff and 28 non- permanent staff was used as the sample. The study revealed that short term, ad-hoc and exigency approaches were adopted by UPK to address human resource planning processes instead of long-term strategies. UPK relies mainly on external sources for recruitment while promotions formed only a small proportion of internal recruitment. The findings also revealed that on- the-job training is the only training and development activity of the press and it is even not extensive. There was also a weak link between training and development and performance appraisal. Based on the findings, it was recommended that, the press incorporates human resource planning in its strategic plan. Adequate budgetary allocation should be made available for training and development programmes/activities.