Social networking and HRD

Social networking websites (SNSs) are becoming an increasingly predominant part of people’s daily lives, including working lives. Yet, very little academic research has been conducted on this influential social phenomenon from en employment perspective. This exploratory study examines the impact of SNSs on human resourcing (HR) through interviews with eight employees and three HR professionals to gain their views and experiences of SNS in the workplace. Key findings include how potential applicants are suspicious of the legitimacy of job advertisements seen on SNSs; managing the use of SNSs is increasingly difficult for organisations due to SNSs being widely available on mobile phones; disciplinary action is being brought against employees who are using SNSs inappropriately; and training sessions for employees regarding the use of SNSs significantly reduce inappropriate use of SNSs. Implications for further research and practice are considered.     

Talking of HRD

This paper draws upon research exploring the emergence of HRD within the British National Health Service (NHS), the aim being to investigate how HRD has been talked into being, is talked about and accomplished through talk. HRD is conceptualized as a socialand discursive construction, and as discursive action. It is argued that conceptualizing HRD as a social and discursive construction can help identify and explain changes in ways of thinking and talking about HRD. Conceptualizing HRD as discursive action can help explain and justify HRD activity, in that much of what HRD practitioners and academics ‘do’ is ‘talk’. This paper explores these concepts and introduces a typology of the discourses of training and development (T&D), HRD and strategic HRD (SHRD), labelled Tell, Sell and Gel. It is suggested that this typology is a useful analytical tool for those practising HRD, providing ameans for HRD professionals to identify and analyse, and possibly change, their practices and discourse(s). The paper introduces a way of identifying how HRD might be talked ‘about’ and theorizes how discursive activities (the talk) might be changing.     

Recent advances in HRD in Australia: application and implications for international HRD

Using a sample of 563 Australian professionals currently working overseas, we investigate the relationships between intention to repatriate and national identity, demographic variables, quality of life, career advancement, personal networks, social context, and situational characteristics. Our findings show that national identity, length of time already spent overseas, quality of life available in the home country, employment in a multinational enterprise (MNE) and expatriate location were predictive of intention to repatriate to Australia. This research has implications for individuals, employers and government policy with regard to the management of talent flows of skilled workers.     

HRD and specialists in organizations

This paper describes the issues for HRD arising from research into the role of government statistical staff in the British and Canadian public policy processes. It identifies the influences of strategy, structure and location on that role, the barriers to increasing the policy impact of the statistical staff, and the training and development implications of staff needing to deliver more with fewer resources. The paper finishes by outlining how the findings raise general HRD issues for organizations employing specialist groups.     

Recent books on HRD

Abstract

The growing potential and need for knowledge and information have had a profound impact on Korea as it strives to develop strategies for national human resource development (NHRD). Within Korea, one strategy for developing NHRD is through regional efforts. However, there is little research regarding regional HRD (RHRD), in spite of the importance of such a focus. This article explores directions and policy-making strategies for RHRD in Busan. 1 1 Busan is often written as Pusan in English, though Busan is preferred in Korea.      

HRD as design science

The aim of this study was to explore the evaluation practices of a sample of organizations in England and Wales who had signalled some commitment to training and evaluation by embarking on the UK's Investors in People (IiP) standard. A questionnaire survey was sent to 1,000 firms and usable responses were received from 394 organizations. It was found that formative and delayed evaluations were used less frequently than immediate and context (needs analysis) evaluations. In the majority of cases the responsibility for evaluation was that of managers and the most frequently used methods were informal feedback and questionnaires. Operational reasons for evaluating training were cited more frequently than strategic ones. Information derived from evaluations was used mostly for feedback to individuals and to inform the training process and less for return on investment decisions. There were some statistically significant effects of organizational size on evaluation practice. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for evaluation theory and research and HRD practice and policy.     

In support of evidence-based management and research-informed HRD through HRD professional partnerships: an empirical and comparative study

This article describes a programme of practice-grounded empirical management research set within an NHS Trust Hospital in the UK that was conducted as part of an HRD Professional Partnership of the kind advocated by Jacobs (1997). The research was concerned with identifying the criteria of managerial effectiveness at the middle and front-line levels of management using critical incident technique and factor analytic methods. The results are compared against those from an equivalent partnership research study carried out previously by the author within one part of the British Civil Service, namely the Anglia Collection of HM Customs & Excise. The findings lend support to the notion of the 'universally effective manager', and provide empirical support for the potential development of evidence-based and research-informed approaches to management and human resource development within the case-study NHS Trust Hospital, and possibly beyond.     

An integrated model of national HRD and critical HRD: considering new possibilities for human resource development

Though both National Human Resource Development (NHRD) and Critical Human Resource Development (CHRD) have received an increasing amount of attention, only two published works have used an explicitly critical approach to discuss NHRD norms, policies, and practices. The purpose of this article was to examine and articulate the relationship between NHRD and CHRD and make a case for the importance of that relationship to the field of HRD. We identify some commonalities between NHRD and CHRD, including the shared priorities of context, culture, and empowerment, which provide a strong foundation for future focuses on theory-sharing, global awareness, holistic and socially conscious economic development, negotiated power and performance, and emancipation in HRD research and practice.     

Exploring a theoretical foundation for HRD in society: toward a model of stakeholder-based HRD

This article explores a theoretical foundation of human resource development (HRD) that can be adopted to explain the increasing use of HRD interventions and practices in the wider context of society and the world. While there has been growing interest in and literature about the societal meaning of HRD, previous research has focused mostly on HRD practices and lacked a theoretical framework that could explain and characterize the interactions between HRD and society. Based on a review of current approaches to the HRD–society nexus, we suggest that the nexus can be better understood when complex interactions between internal and external stakeholders of an organization are recognized, and we introduce the stakeholder-based HRD (SBHRD) model as a tool for identifying the interactions between HRD and society and the characteristics of the interactions with regard to plurality, interdependency, and legitimacy. The SBHRD model carries theoretical implications of possible changes in the epistemology of HRD, pushing forward well-being as the purpose of HRD, and enlarging HRD research topics. From a practical standpoint, the SBHRD model enhances the value of social responsibilities of corporations and ethical management, enlarges the scope and beneficiaries of HRD activities, increases the opportunities of collaboration with adult education, and points to different modes of communication in practice.     

Technical rationality and professional artistry in HRD practice

Abstract

This paper outlines the limitations of a technical rationalist approach to HRD practice without seeking to negate it. It then offers a complementary view based on Schon's notion of the reflective practitioner which exhorts HRD practitioners to embrace complexity and reflection. We outline, first, a number of dimensions of diversity which confer complexity upon HRD practice, and, second, a series of suggested questions that may aid the framing of practical problems in a more effective way than might be the case with a purely technical rationalist approach. We urge novice (and expert) HRD practitioners to adopt a mind set that is contemplative of the diversities that they may encounter in practice and which is conjectural with regard to how these diversities may impact upon problems and their solutions.     

HRD Research in a diversified field

A nation's capacity to absorb and produce knowledge is increasingly linked to advancing its social and economic well-being. While the bulk of research attention has focused on knowledge management in the private sector, universities worldwide continue to play pivotal roles in developing the human capability to work with knowledge. This article draws on a qualitative case study of a public flagship, comprehensive university in a developing nation in Southeast Asia to identify existing research capacity strengths and the hopes some academic faculty and administrators have for the future in a resource-limited and politically constrained context. It points out that faculty virtue may be the basis on which research capacity can develop when gaps in organizational processes, physical resources, and outside support exist. The findings have relevance for richer and poorer nations alike, as rapidly changing economic conditions threaten levels of funding to universities around the world.     

Confucian values and the implications for international HRD

Abstract

The consideration of cultural issues has become increasingly important in scholarly inquiry and explorative practice in international human resource development (HRD). We review and explore the core characteristics of Confucian-based culture in relation to organizations and unfold how these Confucian values may affect organizational and management practices in China and other Asian countries. Five major aspects of Confucianism are examined. They are: (a) hierarchy and harmony, (b) group orientation, (c) guanxi networks (relationships), (d) mianzi (face) and (e) time orientation. The impact of these values on management practices in the Chinese organizational context is presented in four areas: (a) working relationships, (b) decision-making processes, (c) ruling by man (ren zhi) instead of by law (fa zhi) and (d) HR practices. Implications for organizations and international HRD are also discussed.     

The international nature of HRD scholarship

In the UK, human resource practitioners and academics alike are becoming more aware of the emergence of managing diversity. But what does managing diversity actually mean, how does it translate into practice, and what does it matter? The following paper briefly debates the rhetoric of managing diversity and considers whether managing diversity is a distinct approach to managing people or a means of diluting equal opportunities in UK organizations. With respect to the realities of the concepts in UK organizations, empirical data from a survey of sixty UK human resource professionals and general line managers is presented. We pose a number of cautionary questions, including what does it matter and to whom? By doing so we intend to encourage further critique and challenges in respect to the concept of managing diversity in organizations.     

Korean corporate HRD in transition: issues and challenges

The purpose of this study was to explore the human resource development (HRD) practices of Korean corporations in order to highlight predominant concerns and issues. A comprehensive review of literature and empirical data indicated three recurring practices. The first was that Korean corporate HRD showed a tendency to transform informal communicative practices found in workplace settings into formally structured HRD interventions. By doing so, HRD extended its control throughout all possible types of training and learning experiences occurring in the workplace. Second, as host organizations requested HRD to play the role of strategic business partners, the function of HRD was found to be the regulation of organizational needs by focusing on the development of high potential individuals within organizations. Third, with today's demographic shift such as the increasing elderly population and the increasing number of women in the workplace, the monolithic interventions of HRD seemed no longer appropriate.