Assessment of the HRM Practices and Quality Initiatives from the Academic and Managerial Viewpoint (A Study of NAAC Accredited Institutions in Hyderabad-India)

The main focus of this study is on the HRM practices and quality initiatives in the institutions accredited by National Assessment and Accreditation Council in India. This is a Post Facto study. The sample size taken up for the study consists of 260 faculty members and 100 managements. The collected data were analyzed by using ‘t’ test, Chi-square analysis, ANOVA and Pearson correlation method. The major findings of this study have indicated that regarding the professional knowledge, there is significant difference between regional and state university. There is a high correlation among all aspects of HRM practices, HRM Qualities and competencies (Professional KnowledgeProfessional Skills-Personal attitude and values) and all of the components play an important role as HRM practices and Quality Initiatives in Higher Education. In case of the HRM practices, Qualities and Competencies, there is no significant difference in the Institutes.


INTRODUCTION
Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, in his speech to the graduates of the Allahabad University in 1947 expressed the importance of the higher education in the following words: "A university stands for humanism, for tolerance, for reason, for the adventure of ideas and for the search for truth. It stands for the onward march of the human race toward higher objectives. Universities are places of ideals and idealism. If the universities discharge their duties adequately, then, it is well with the nation and people".
This statement effectively initiated the formulation of the essential purpose of university education in independent India. India has diverse and complex higher education, which is the second largest in the world. There has been an increase of 11.5 times in universities, 12.35 times in colleges, 60.21 times in student's enrolment, 25 times in teachers and 20 times in non-teaching staff during last 50 years (Parikh and Kshatriya, 2003).
Based on reports from the National Policy on Education (1986), these institutions differ in their governance, funding pattern, freedom they have to innovate in curriculum, locality, target group they serve, mission and vision and the like. While it is not possible to evolve a different framework for each type of institution, the major differences have been taken care of by considering three major classifications. University and university level institutions, Autonomous Colleges and Affiliated/Constituent Colleges (Stella, 2001).
As a part of coordination and maintenance of standard higher education, UGC (University Grant Commission ) has set up an inter-university institution of quality assessment and accreditation. This is named as NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council ). India joined the international trend in 1994.
In 2005, India recognized that the new global scenario poses unprecedented challenges for the higher education system. Responding to these emerging needs, the UGC states that the university has a crucial role to play in promoting social change. It must make an impact on the community if it is to retain its legitimacy and gain public support. Concepts of access, equity, relevance and quality can be operationalized only if the system is both effective and efficient. Hence, the management of higher education and the total networking of the system for effective management has become an important issue. The shift can occur only through a systemic approach to change as also the development of its human resource. India's greatest challenge today is the development of human resources. India does not suffer from a resources gap, not a technological gap, or a gap in planning; it suffers from a gap in management of human resources (Sinha, 1998). Thakur (2004) has aptly observed that the essential purpose of education is to prepare everyone to acquire the knowledge, talents and resources and make them available in the task of nation building. The president of India (Abdul Kalam, 2003) has stated that the universities have a major responsibility in nation building and which is the mission of the universities. Universities today are supposed to impart quality education to develop competent and capable human resource required for nation building.
Quality in higher education has become the prime concern of countries the world over. Drucker (1954) maintained that the major problem in the developing countries is the problem of under-management of resources, keeping in view the abundant human resources. Converting the huge human masses into human assets is not only a management problem but also a socioeconomic issue.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
According to Ruskin (1853), education does not mean teaching people what they do not know. It means teaching them to behave as they do not behave. It means training them to the perfect exercise and kingly continence of their bodies and souls (Pakkeerappa, 2005). As a result, human resources cannot be depreciated as physical resources can, or used to reflect the net worth of an organization as physical resources can. Human resources are as important as physical and financial resources.
On the other hand, development of people refers to the advancement of knowledge, skills and competencies and the improved behavior of people within the organization for both their personal and professional use.
Human resource is the most important asset in the organization because motivated human resources can better utilize all other natural resources only. Athan (1964) stated that development of human resources has unlimited potentials. It has been indicated that the most intelligent individual uses only 10% of his capability and the average employees applicable of his mental Powers on his job is only about 15 to 20% of capabilities available to him. The human are assuming significance in modern organization. Majority of the problems in organizational setting are human and social rather than physical, technical or economic. The failure to recognize this fact causes immense loss to the nation, enterprise and the individual. It is truism that productivity is associated markedly with the nature of human resources and their total environment consisting of interrelated, interdependent and inter-acting economic and non-economic factors. Thus the significance of human resources can be examined from at least two standpoints economic, non-economic (Megginson, 1968). Well-motivated personnel with innovative capability and managerial ability working with a team spirit towards its goals and objectives are sure to contribute to the success of a university.
With the advent of globalization, the character of higher education is set of change. Higher education to be meaningful and productive must have avenues for excellence to flourish and develop. There will be a premium on quality with benchmarking of programs assuming importance. The impact of technologies will progressively increase. So universities need to look and ahead and prepare themselves for far reaching changes. Unless the quality aspect is not taken care of the malady that exists in higher education will never be eliminated (Sharma and Venkateshwarlu, 2007). The maintenances of quality in higher education is must as the new global scenario poses unprecedented challenges for the higher education system. The higher education system needs a forward-looking strategy that could safeguard the interests at the global level. It needs to organize itself in such a manner that it makes management, faculty and students competent and skilled to succeed in an independent world.
As McGregor (1985) observed people have got a large amount of creativity, imagination and ingenuity to solve the problems of organization. But often these potentials are not fully utilized by management through appropriate and systematic efforts.

Research objectives:
 To compare Central, Regional and State Universities regarding HRM practices, qualities and competencies  To compare the Higher Ranked Institutions regarding HRM practices, qualities and competencies  To find out the degree of relationship between different elements of HRM practices, qualities and competencies in the institutions  To study the assessment and accreditation process of NAAC among the various Institutions of higher education  To draw conclusions and give appropriate suggestions for enhancing and improving quality of higher education in developing countries like Iran

Research questions:
 Is there difference regarding the elements of HRM qualities and practices between Central, Regional and state universities?  Is there difference regarding HRM qualities and Practices elements between the higher ranked institutions?
 Is there difference between the elements of HRM Qualities and practices in the study institutions?  Is there relationship between different elements of HRM qualities and practices in the study institutions?

LITERATURE REVIEW
The great advance of the 20 th century was to achieve means of systematically managing employees to achieve certain organizational goals. This collection looks at the origin of this moment, the period between the late 19 th century and the Second World War when several important movements and schools of thought emerged. Then as now, there was no consensus as to the best way of managing human capital, but all the movements that emerged in this period had a common dual aim: To raise industrial output while simultaneously improving the quality of the life of the workers.
Both these aims continue to be at the heart of most thinking in human resource management (Morgen, 2000). Peters and Waterman (1982) emphasized that in order to achieve productivity through people; the management should put into practice the three fundamental values of treating them as adults, treating them with dignity and treating them with respect.
As far as the HRM in institutions is concerned, it indicates the development of those individuals connected with the institution that include the institution, heads of the faculties, faculty members, students and other supporting staff etc., (Rao, 1999a).
Human resource development is primarily concerned with helping employees through training, feedback and counseling by their senior officers and other development efforts. The following tools or instruments serve as ways in developing HR skills: work environment, Training and Development, Motivation, Job Satisfaction, Organization Development, Promotion, Reward system, Performance and Potential Appraisal, Seminars, Conferences and Workshops, Guidance and counseling, Feedback, Management Development and Leadership Qualities. Higher education in the form of increase in number of universities, colleges and other institutions of higher learning has expanded tremendously in India after Independence.
It is estimated that there are about 354 universitieslevel institutions and 17,630 colleges. But investment on higher education has been decreased and presently only less than half a percent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product ) is being spent, which is contrary to the increase against a number of higher educational institutions (Mohanty, 2003).
In the light of the changing contexts and trends, the educational institutions have been compelled to be seriously concerned if the Indian higher education is to gain and maintain the esteem (Shakeel, 2007).
Higher Education has a crucial role to play in the process of Progress and modernization. There has been considerable expansion of higher education with its role for economic and social development. The expansion of the system has been affecting the quality to a great extent. The Government, during the year, has tried to focus upon the initiatives to address the quality issues in higher education (Rao, 2001). The higher education system has been experimenting with management approaches to deal with challenges arising from internet factors, such as changes in academic disciplines and new instructional methods and external factors such as population growth, diverse clienteles and changing labor market requirements. Non-university institutions and establishment of open universities and distance learning system have been particularly important initiatives.
While speaking about the need for quality higher education for the development of India, the former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared that if all were well with our educational institutions, all would be well with the nation. Educational institutions are intimately linked with society at large. They are the temples of knowledge. They are the agents of social change and transformation (Felix, 2000). Therefore, the general condition of our schools, colleges and universities is a matter of great concern to the nation. Since independence, the Indian higher education system has undergone a unique transformation from an elitist to an egalitarian one (Powar, 1977). However, the expansion of higher education has led to climate of enquiry and thought. Quality is an aspect, which sometimes gets overlooked in preoccupation with quantitative expansion. While quantitative growth is vital from the angle of widening of access, qualitative Improvement remains important in its own right. The tremendous increase in enrolment in various stages of education is no doubt, a gratifying situation. But we must be conscious of the fact that improvement of the quality of educational system is directly related to the inter connection of the educational development which requires the educational system to be able to respond efficiently and effectively to the needs of the productive masses.
The attention of the educationists all over the world is engaged in finding ways and means of achieving high standards of education. In the face of emerging new economy based on liberalized, technological and global competitiveness, it is important to enhance the quality of teaching and learning process as the up gradation of the educational content. The efforts to enhance the quality shall not be confined only to few elite institutions but becomes essential for everyone. According to Sharma and Venkateshwarlu (2007) quality in higher education is a complex idea but above all it is about what students have learnt as a result of their interaction with their teachers, departments and University.
If the assessment is to be beneficial, change must be effected from within the institution. This means that administrators, faculty members and students also need an understanding of the criteria that can guide and facilitate improvements in the way they function.
Quality assessment in higher education is of global interest; government and public demand for accountability from higher education institutions has steadily increased over the past decade.
With globalization of economy, a demand for quality in higher education has become all the more prominent. There is no other choice except to meet the global standards all over the world. There is a massive search for implementation of strategies for management of quality in educational institutions. Accreditation is a unique opportunity for management of quality.
The conducted studies in the world over: Jambunathan (1999) expressed his view on competitive environment and its implications for training and development in the corporation where he felt that a new look should be given for designing programs aiming at maximizing the training benefits. He says, to generate and sustain a supreme feeling of wanting to be great, the training philosophy and the strategies should make the necessary adjustments quickly and thoughtfully. Rao (1999b) stated that feedback is an integral part of training. He believed that feedback should be given lot of importance and lot of efforts must be made to devise the feedback formalities so that the training program should match the expectations of the participants and their needs that in turn should lead to effective performance and significant contribution.
UGC (2002) advised Central and State Governments on the measures necessary for the improvement of university education. Both the UGC and the AICTE (All India Council for Technical Education ) have a statutory responsibility and authority to lay down norms and standards for management program. The major findings of the study indicate that the laid down the pattern of student's evaluation should be based on participation in seminars, case discussions and group work activities, class tests, quizzes, individual and group oral presentation, submission of written assignments, term papers and viva-voce. If these instructions are followed and incorporated into the pedagogic pattern, then automatically personality development is taken care of to a large extent. Thomson (2004) emphasized on the importance of the quality of management to the success of business organization, improvement in executive skills with the training programs, career advancement with the help of the executive development courses and inclusion of the leadership training in the corporate culture. Douglas (2004) discussed leadership development as the responsibility of a company's senior executives. Managers need to create venues for discussing the tensions that develop and realign reward Systems that will motivate others in a competitive environment. Personal performance incentives can be economic or non-economic rewards. The actions of the business divisions have to be synchronized with corporate goals. Zero-sum thinking can prevent companies recognizing innovation. The examples of leaders grow in RBC financial group in Canada and other firms are given.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This is a Post Facto study that the collected data were analyzed by using 't' test, Chi-square analysis, ANOVA, Multiple comparisons and Pearson correlation method.
Stratified random sampling technique is adopted to select the colleges and universities from the study organization.
 1 Central university with the rank of A*****  1 State university with the rank of A*****  1 Regional university with the rank of A  3 Colleges with the rank of A  1 College with rank of B ++  1 College with the rank of B +  1 College with the rank of B Total sample in this research consists of colleges and universities in twin cities, Hyderabad and Secundarabad (accredited by NAAC). The Sample size taken up for the study consists of 260 faculty and 100 managements. We follow the method of proportional allocation and by the size of the sample from the different strata are kept proportional to the sizes of the strata. The distribution of sample among the ten study organizations (seven college and three Universities) is shown in Table 1.
The tools of data collection: Primary data is collected through structured questionnaires separately prepared for managements and faculty. Questionnaire-1 is related to qualities and competencies requirement of HR management (from the management point of view). The questionnaire is divided into three parts:  Consists of questions related to the HR management (professional knowledge)  Includes questions related to the HR management (professional skills) The Reliability Score of Questionnaire1 is 0.9327 and for Questionnaire 2 is 0.9240.

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
Career planning between three universities: The Table 2 explains the analysis to find an answer that is there any difference regarding Career Planning between three universities?

Performance appraisal between three universities:
The Table 3 explains the analysis to the question to find is there any difference regarding performance appraisal between three universities? Potential appraisal between three universities: The Table 4 explains the analysis to the question to find is there any difference regarding potential appraisal between the three universities?
Indicating that OU is on a par with JNTU and HCU and JNTU is on a par with HCU. Hence, in the above three HRM practices (Career planning, performance appraisal, potential appraisal). There is no difference between regional, central and state universities from the faculty point of view.    Rewards, motivation and job satisfaction between three universities: The Table 5 explains the analysis to the question to find is there any difference regarding rewards, motivation and job satisfaction between three universities?   There is no significant difference regarding organizational development between OU and JNTU, JNTU and HCU; Indicating that OU is on a par with JNTU and HCU and JNTU is on a par with HCU. It indicates that from the faculty point of view, all the aspects and criteria (have been shown in the above tables), play the same and important role as HRM practices in higher education , JNTU = 10; *: There is a significant difference with professional knowledge between JNTU and HCU, where as there is no significant difference between OU and JNTU and OU and HCU; Indicating that OU is on a par with JNTU and HCU but JNTU is not on a par with HCU Training between three universities: The Table 6 explains the analysis to the question to find is there any difference regarding training between three universities?
Feedback between three universities: The Table 7 explains the analysis to the question to find is there any difference regarding feedback between three universities?
Organizational development between three universities: The Table 8 explains the analysis to the question to find is there any difference regarding organizational development between three universities?

Professional knowledge between three universities:
The Table 9 explains the analysis to the question to find HCU 13.89 7.08 0.05 *: There is a significant difference regarding professional skills between JNTU and HCU, whereas there is no significant difference between OU and JNTU and OU and HCU; OU is on a par with JNTU and HCU; Perception of three universities management (OU, JNTU, HCU) with respect to the professional knowledge and professional skills, indicating that JNTU is not on a par with HCU. It may be concerned to the subject of JNTU Management, because it is the only technological university in this study. There is no significant difference regarding personal attitude and values between OU and JNTU, OU and HCU, and JNTU and HCU; Indicating that OU is on a par with JNTU and HCU and JNTU is also on a par with HCU. Hence, in this case there is no difference between regional, central and state universities Since the significance value for each factor is greater than α (5%) value; *: There is no significant difference in HRM practices between universities or colleges got accredited the higher rank. Therefore, the results emphasize on the right quality assessment and accreditation that measured by NAAC is there any difference regarding professional knowledge between 3 universities.
Professional skills between three universities: The Table 10 explains the analysis to the question to find is there any difference regarding professional skills between 3 universities.

Personal attitude and values between three universities:
The Table 11 explains the analysis to the question to find is there any difference regarding personal attitude and values between three universities? To examine the significance of the HRM practices between the higher ranked institutions (OU, HCU, JNTU, St. Ann's College of Education, St. Francis and St. Ann's College for Women) the multiple comparison is done (Table 12). 18 Colleges with the rank of A and A**** 16 As it is seen that sig. value regarding professional knowledge is less than the α (5%) value, the inference may be drawn that: there are significant difference with respect to professional knowledge between OU, HCU, and the other colleges with the rank of A and A****; *: There is no significant difference with respect to professional skills, personal attitude and values between OU, HCU, and the other colleges with the rank of A and A****; Hence, regarding qualities and competencies requirement of HR Management, there is no difference from the management point of view To examine the significance of the HRM qualities and competencies between the higher ranked institutions, the multiple comparison is done (Table 13).
To Examine the Significance of the HRM practices in the Study Institutions, the one-way ANOVA as shown in Table 14 is conducted. To examine the significance of the HRM qualities and competencies in the study institutions, the one-way ANOVA as shown in Table 15 is conducted.
The Table 15 shows analysis of variance between HRM qualities and competencies in seven Colleges and  Analysis of the above ANOVA table reveals that in case of HRM qualities and competencies, there is no significant difference between the factors (Professional knowledge, professional skills, personal attitude and values) in the Institutes accredited by NAAC. In the other word, it emphasizes on the right quality assessment and accreditation.
The degree of relationship between different factors of HRM practices in 10 colleges and 3 universities (Table 16): There seems to be a High Correlation among all the aspects i.e., career planning, performance appraisal, potential appraisal, feedback, training, rewards, motivation, job satisfaction, organizational development and all of the components play an important role as HRM practices and quality initiatives in higher education. It emphasizes on the procedure of assessment and accreditation and an overall performance of competition could be seen in quality development.
The degree of relationship between different factors of HRM qualities and competencies in 10 colleges and 3 universities (Table 17): It can be observed that there exists a high correlation among all the aspects i.e., professional knowledge, professional skills and personal attitude and values. All the components play an important role in achievement of objectives.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Abdul Kalam and Rajan (1998) have discussed the potential of India to be a developed nation in quite details and suggested the ways to accomplish the same. Importance of human resource and the role of higher education in developing it, has been well recognized. Further, the economics of advanced industrial countries were found to depend to an unprecedented extent on the result of scientific research on the supply of skilled and responsible manpower and consequently on the efficiency of education system. Therefore, higher education is considered as critical input for economic development more so for human resource development.
In conclusion it can be said that development of human resources should be a continuous process in institutions and outcome variables would be more competent people, better developed roles, higher work commitment and involvement, better utilization of human resources, higher job satisfaction and work motivation, good organizational health, synergy, etc. While the ultimate objective of HRM is to develop competencies in individuals, groups and collectives, developing competencies is a never-ending process.
It has become important that educational quality and maintaining standards are reviewed and upgraded on regular basis so that education is made responsive to the societal needs.
Globally, bench marking is being increasingly advocated as strategy for maintaining quality in higher education. It is a means of making qualitative comparisons of performance usually with the view to establish good or best practices (Schofield, 1998).
Accreditation is now a matured full-fledged process for evaluating and improving education quality in universities and colleges that is done on a voluntary basis by the NAAC.
The data reveals that universities and colleges have not come forward in large number for accreditation. It is necessary to understand that why many universities and colleges are not coming forward to get accredited.
There may be justified reasons for that which needs to be addressed in the right perspective to make the process meaningful.