The practice and effects of Human resource training and development in Zambian State owned enterprises: The case of the Zambia Telecommunications Company(Zamtel)

Abstract

Human resources form a vital component of the operations of any organization. State owned enterprises are not an exception. While machines are continually utilised to perform certain functions which previously used to be executed by human beings, the former cannot completely take over the role of the latter in organizations. In fact, it is human beings who operate and fix these machines. Therefore, machines are there to aid and not necessarily replace human resources. The point being put across here is that human resources are indispensable. However, in order to maintain this indispensability, and to ensure the success of organisations in achieving their objectives, human resources have to be continually trained and developed. Having observed the downfall of many Zambian state owned enterprises and the performance of Zamtel in terms of its financial viability, the researcher felt the need to undertake this investigation. While the researcher is fully cognisant that there are other factors which can affect the operations of an organisation, many critical aspects of an organisation's operations hinge on the performance of human resources. Hence, the training and development of human resources cannot be over emphasized in today's fast changing world in the era of globalisation. The study was conducted in three districts, namely; Lusaka, Ndola and Kitwe. This is because the operations of Zamtel for the entire country were divided into southern and northern regions. The southern regional office was in Lusaka while the northern regional office was in Kitwe. However, the company's head office was in Ndola and housed the training department. In this dissertation, training and development programmes have been treated as two different but complementary strands of human capital capacity building. This dissertation brings to light information about the desirability as well as undesirability of the practices of training and development in Zamtel prior to its privatisation.