Amid Watershed Reforms: A Case of Strategic Human Resource Planning at a Local Zambian Telecommunications Establishment

Abstract

This descriptive study was carried out to evaluate the strategic human resource planning process at a selected local Zambian telecommunications establishment in light of organizational changes. The establishment is a former State Owned Enterprise (SOE). It has been observed that human resource planning components of job analysis, recruitment and placement, performance appraisal, training and development and reward systems are dysfunctional to changes taking place in the form of de-regulation of the telecommunications industry. The selected establishment is now competing for customers and skilled man power and globalisation and regional integration, social cultural dynamics and turbulences in the technological environments. The data was analysed using secondary data, records and other documents from the inside and outside the selected telecommunications establishment were used, such as corporate reports, personal records, productivity and sales improvement and financial reports and the questionnaire was quantified by using Statistics Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 to test for relationships between human resource planning and organizational change. Research findings indicated that there was no significant relationship between human resource planning and organizational change at the telecommunications establishment. Dissipation analysis was not given full attention, the establishment was last reviewed 13 years ago and proved to be a barrier to the expansion of certain engineering sections and the performance appraisal system was subjective. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the establishment overhauls human resource management, applies strategic management in its planning processes and invites external consultants in the process of organizational change and development.

DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n3p31