Human resource development (HRD) resilience: a new ‘success element’ of organizational resilience?

ABSTRACT

Endlessly changing business and economic landscapes urge organizations to become resilient to ensure business survival and growth. Yet, in many cases, business world is becoming turbulent faster than organizations are becoming resilient. Relevant research indicates the ways through which organizations could respond to unforeseen events, mainly through suggesting that individual and group resilience could lead to an organizational one. However, research is nascent on how particularly human resource development (HRD) resilience could be built, and thus to contribute to organizational resilience as well. Within today’s business uncertainty and complexity, HRD resilience comes in line with the developmental strategies of organizations. Therefore, the purpose of this perspective article is to set the foundations of the term (HRD resilience) in order to initiate a dialogue around its ability to make a substantial contribution to organizational practice, and thus to be seen as a new ‘success element’ of organizational resilience.     

Assessing the efficiency of HRD practices in knowledge-intensive firms

The article presents the results of a comparative study of human resource development (HRD) in two groups of knowledge-intensive firms: those working in the information technology (IT) field and in advertising/public relations (PR) field. One hundred Russian medium-sized enterprises participated in the study. The questionnaire was developed on the basis of the European quality standard ‘Investors in People’. The study findings suggested that the differences in HR practices aimed at personnel development between two groups of companies were statistically significant. Thus, in the advertising/PR companies, HRD practices were used more actively and effectively, with particular emphasis on providing timely feedback and involving employees in the decision-making process. In IT companies, formal assessment tools were used more often, while in advertising/PR companies, more informal and individualized approaches were more prevalent.     

Human capital practices of Russian enterprises

Abstract

The goal of this study was to explore current human capital (HC) management practices (including training and development, recruitment and selection, compensation, empowerment, diversity, and work/family balance) of Russian enterprises. The data were collected at 270 large, medium and small enterprises in Moscow and four representative regional centers. The study results suggest that Russian firms tended to emphasize current HC needs, not long-term HC development strategies. The firm size had an effect on differences in training, selection and compensation practices, with large firms being more long-term oriented. Correlation between elements of the HC management model provided some preliminary evidence that Russian firms tried to coordinate selection, compensation and training procedures. In addition, firms that empowered their employees were also putting more emphasis on long-term oriented training, selection and compensation practices. Finally, there were signs that diversity was gradually becoming an important issue for Russian enterprises of all sizes. However, compared to diversity, companies' emphasis on helping their employees to deal with the work/family balance issues was much stronger.     

The role of national HRD in an era of COVID-19

ABSTRACT

COVID-19 has revealed the many ways in which processes across the globe have failed us. If NHRD were in place globally, many of these issues should not have occurred. This has especially been the case in the U.S. The country with the most highly developed NHRD, South Korea, has had among the greatest success in fighting the virus. In this article, I will explore many of these issues at the micro, meso, macro, and cross-country perspectives in which NHRD can improve on the failed processes and prepare for the next pandemic, whenever it occurs.     

From a sapling to the forest: the saga of the development of HRD in India

This is an account of the growth and development of HRD function in India. What started in the mid-1970s as a conceptualization of an integrated HRD system to change the performance appraisal systems in a large engineering company, resulted in the establishment of HRD departments in many firms. Further dissemination and perseverance resulted in the establishment of a centre for HRD, and subsequently the birth of a professional body and, later, an academic institution. The authors describe the growth in eight stages and conclude the path for future is in moving towards national HR policies and other social sectors.     

Management by values as a core tool of HRD during the economic transition: an example of Russian enterprises

The article analyses the role and the significance of management by values in the conditions of transition from one socio-economic system to another. The theoretical aspects of the problem and the results of empirical research conducted in a number of Russian companies are examined. An assumption is made about organizational values influencing the formation of personal priorities and guiding principles of the employees, which leads to the increase of the degree of social responsibility of a given business.     

Redefining,relooking, redesigning,and reincorporating HRD in the post Covid 19 context and thereafter

ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought several challenges to the way organizations were functioning globally. Considering the case of India, this is a time of complete work transformation for the entire workforce across all sectors of work. As the work from home scenario has never been a part of the functioning of Indian organizations, whether public or private, there are serious concerns of managing the same particularly in time of this crisis. Thus, the present article provides an insight into the response of Indian organizations in combating the repercussions that the COVID-19 pandemic has drawn with it as well as the challenges being faced. In line with the same, we propose the adoption of a 4-R Crisis-Normalcy Model of HRD that can be used by the HRD professionals to redefine, relook, redesign, and reincorporate the HRD interventions in the COVID-19 context. This model not only provides the basis for managing the COVID-19 pandemic aligned to organizational functioning but is a way forward to dealing with any type of crisis situation that may affect an organization.     

The importance of recognizing generational differences in HRD policy and practices: a study of workers in Qinhuangdao,China

Amid the success of becoming a market economy and a member of the World Trade Organization, the response to China's economic reform is not the same across generational cohorts. The Cultural Revolution (CR) cohort, a by-product of the history of contemporary China, has been left behind. Based on the results of 384 highly structured interviews, this study found that the CR cohort sampled was the least satisfied with China's recent economic reform. The study calls for future research and collaboration among HRD scholars and practitioners to address generational differences and specifically the needs of the CR cohort.     

Leading Asian countries' HRD practices in the IT industry: a comparative study of South Korea and India

In order to examine the relationship between organizational change and organizational learning the authors conducted interviews with managers in 137 Estonian companies concerning changes implemented and learning outcomes. According to this survey, the relationship between organizational change and learning is seen differently in a country in transition.     

The role of HRD in bridging the research-practice gap: the case of learning and development

ABSTRACT

An enduring challenge for HRD is ensuring academic research achieves impact on professional practice. We have located this research within debates about the research-practice gap. To investigate this challenge, we analyse case studies of academic impact from all disciplines submitted to the United Kingdom’s 2014 research assessment exercise (REF 2014). We found that Learning and Development was a primary focus of significant number of impact case studies submitted across all disciplines compared to other areas of HR and HRD. We also found that Learning and Development was a key path to Impact. These findings reveal that Learning and Development in a work context plays a pivotal role in helping researchers irrespective of discipline achieve impact. Our findings therefore speak to the research-practice gap across academia. We conclude by considering the potential role for HRD in generating impact.     

The status of HRD research in the United States from 1980 to 1994

This study used the research methodology of citation analysis to elucidate the status of HRD research in the United States. The study results include information about core US journals, the number of articles published per year, and the type of article authorship. The results also provide information about the changing landscape for HRD publications.     

Living in the shadow of OD: HRD and the search for identity

The paper attempts to describe the similarities and differences between organizational development (OD) and human resource development (HRD). While it is argued that HRD practitioners need to acquire some of the skills of OD consultants, these are likely to be limited to the development of personal skills and learning in the attempt to achieve intrapreneurialism and personal transformations. We argue that HRD is living in the shadow of OD because it is slow to recognize its roots in the debates of that discipline. It is therefore suggested that HRD will recognize its true potential only when it identifies its core knowledge and skills. We argue that HRD can find its essential identity in four main ways: by focusing on the organization's business strategy; by devolving responsibility to line managers; by adopting an employee-centred approach to learning; and by emphasizing workplace learning. However, a wider behavioural understanding and a greater degree of reflectiveness in relation to the politics of change and the skills of the change agent must inform this identity.     

Women,empowerment and development in Arab Gulf States: a critical appraisal of governance,culture and national human resource development (HRD) frameworks

This phenomenological study focuses on Western expatriates working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their experiences and perceptions of their cross-cultural adjustment. To this end, eight Western expatriates working and living in Saudi Arabia were interviewed face-to-face in an effort to explore and document their lived experiences of adjusting to life in Saudi Arabia, thus extending the current knowledge of this phenomenon. These in-depth face-to-face interviews and the subsequently employed rigorous methods of abstracting data led to the discovery of four critical themes that were viewed by all participants as having the greatest impact on their adjustment to working and living in Saudi Arabia. These themes were Adjustment of Spouses, Life on the Company Compounds, Lack of Activities Between Saudis and Westerners, and Relationship Between the Westerners and Saudis.     

A necessary dialogue: a South African case study exploring the role of national HRD in HIV/AIDS non-government organizations

This article makes the case for a coordinated and multi-faceted national level response to the HIV/AIDS crisis in South Africa from the field of human resource development (HRD), arguing that national policy debate on this issue must include the development of human resources in HIV/AIDS non-governmental organizations (NGOs). An exploration of potential connections between HIV/AIDS and HRD was conducted with a qualitative case study in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Through this study, four major thematic categories emerged in connection to the work of NGOs involved in the management of HIV/AIDS, government policy, and the emerging theory and practice of national human resource development (NHRD). In addition, findings pointed to the need for HRD research to be conducted in HIV/AIDS related NGOs given their front-line roles in both policy and practice. Initial suggestions for dialogue between NGOs involved with managing HIV/AIDS and the HRD research and practice community are made along with recommendations for stronger linkages between NHRD and HIV/AIDs.     

HR perceptions and the provision of workforce training in an AMT environment: An empirical study

Research literature indicates the importance of workforce development in the successful implementation of advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs). However, the relationship between advanced technologies and workforce training is assumed to be a direct one with limited consideration provided to factors that may influence it. This study examines the impacts of environment and human resource (HR) manager perceptions on the provision of workforce development activities. A human-centered technology philosophy is proposed as a conceptual framework for examining the role of HR manager perceptions to mediate the relationship between AMTs and workforce development. Results from hierarchical regressions indicate that the perceptions of HR managers regarding technology-driven workforce need to explain a large portion of the variance for both individual and process development activities. Findings support that the managerial role of assessing workforce developmental needs from basic AMTs places HR managerial perceptions at the focal point of social–technical systems. The role of environmental uncertainty is also examined as a moderator of managerial perceptions of technology-driven needs in an AMT environment. The results suggest that environmental uncertainty did not moderate the relationship between HR perceptions as a predictor of workforce development activities. This could imply that HR managers may not consider critical external environment issues when making decisions of workforce development activities. The implications of these findings for HR perceptions in an AMT environment are discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Landscape of human resource development research in Korea: results from author co-citation network analysis

The present study examined major trends and issues of Human Resource Development (HRD) research in Korean context applying the author co-citation analysis (ACA) to three primary HRD-related journals in South Korea. Following the analyses of author co-citation frequency, correlation matrix, dendrogram, and the multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) map, the results were found as follows: (1) co-citation network identified seven topical clusters (i.e., human competency improvement for young men and e-learning designers, system approach for training effectiveness, competency for executives and HRD-ers, HRD evaluations, HRD solutions, mentoring in career development, leadership, and the role of professionals), (2) competency appeared as a keyword in multiple clusters, (3) unlike HRD in North America or Europe, learning (informal, organizational, self-directed, and lifelong learning) with a variety of HRD solutions comprised the dominant research stream, and (4) research activities for critical issues, such as diversity, development of workforce minority, and international HRD were largely missing.