HRD Context

• The context in which HRD functions is almost always within a host

organization.
The host organization can be a corporation, business, industry, government
agency or a non-profit organization – large or small.
• The host organization is a system having a mission with a mission-driven
goals and outputs.
• In an international context, the host organization for HRD can be a nation.
• The strategic investment in HRD at the nation level can range from
maintaining high-level national workforce competitiveness to
fundamental elevation of a nation from poverty and disarray.
• The host organization may also be a multinational or global
organization with operations in many continents and many nations.
• Such complex organizations can both affect the structure of HRD and
be the focus of HRD work.
• HRD has been traditionally sensitive to culture within an organization
and between organizations.
• Making the transition to global issues has been relatively issue for
HRD.
HRD Core Beliefs
• Organizations are human – made entities that rely on human expertise
to establish and achieve their goals. This belief acknowledges that
organizations are changeable and vulnerable. Organizations have been
created by humankind and can soar or crumble, and HRD is intricately
connected to the fate of the organization.
• Human expertise is developed and maximized through HRD processes
and should be done for the mutual long-and/or short-term benefits of
the sponsoring organization and the individual involved.
• HRD professionals are advocates of individuals/groups, work processes,
and organizational integrity. HRD professionals typically have a very
• privileged position of accessing information that transcends the
boundaries and levels of individuals, groups, work processes, and the
organization. Getting information and seeing things that others may
not have a chance to see also carries a responsibility. At times
harmony is required , and at other times the blunt truth is required.
Giley and Maycunich (2000) in Swanson and Holton (2001) contend
that HRD practice
• integrates eclectic theoretical disciplines
• is based on satisfying stakeholders’ needs and expectations
• uses evaluation as a continuous improvement process
• is designated to improve organization effectiveness
• relies on relationship mapping to enhance operational efficiency
• is linked to the organization’s strategic business goals and objectives
• is based on partnerships
• is results oriented
• assumes credibility as essential
• utilizes strategic planning to help the organization integrate vision,
mission, strategy and practice
• relies on the analysis process to identify priorities
• is based on purposeful and meaningful measurement
• promotes and equity in the workplace
HRD As A Discipline And A Professional
Field Of Practice
The HRD profession is widely recognized. It embraces the following:
• Training
• Training and Development
• Employee Development
• Technical Training
• Management Development
• Executive and Leadership Development
• Human Performance Technology
• Organization Development
• Organizational Learning
• Practitioners who work in HRD may have varying titles such as
manager of management development, OD specialist, and director of
technical training.
• We also see HRD as overlapping with the theory and practice
underlying other closely linked domains, including the following:
- Career development
- Organizational and process effectiveness
- Performance Improvement
- Strategic organizational planning
 - Human resource management
- Human resources

Reflection: What is it about HRD that interests you the most?

HRD Process
• HRD is a purposeful process or system. In addition to being thought of
as a process, HRD is viewed as an organizational function, a
department and a job.
• HRD and its subsets of personnel training and development, OD can
be portrayed as five-phase processes. Variations in the wording for
the HRD, T and D and OD process phases capture the common thread
and varying terminology.
 HRD T and D OD
Phase 1 Analyze Analyze Analyze
Phase 2 Propose Design Diagnose/
Feedback
Phase 3 Create Develop Plan/
effective
Phase 4 Implement Implement Implement
Phase 5 Assess Evaluate Evaluate/
Institutionalize
Factors Influencing Human Resource
Development
• First and foremost, training and development programs must have
top management’s full support. This support must be real-not merely
lip service – and it should be communicated to the entire
organization.
• Other managers, both generalists and HRD specialists, should be
committed to and involved in the HRD process.
• To ensure effective programs, HRD managers must show management
that there will be a tangible payoff if resources are committed to this
effort.
• Some form of cost-benefit analysis should be made prior to implementing
any HRD program. The program should be job-related, improve
productivity, lower costs, and increase profits.
• A major role of the HRD manager is to assist people in obtaining the
knowledge and skills they need for present and future jobs and to assist
them in attaining personal goals.
• In recent years, the increasingly rapid changes in products, systems and
methods have had a significant impact on job requirements . Thus,
employees face the need to constantly upgrade their skills and to develop
an attitude that permits not only to adapt to change but also to accept
and even seek it.
Many organizations have grown to gigantic size in terms of the number
of employees, sales volume and diversity of products. This growth has
resulted in extremely complex organizational structures and a high
degree of specialization. These conditions necessitate greater operating
interdependence. More than ever, people must interact with groups of
peers, subordinates and superiors to perform their jobs successfully.
• During the past several decades, a vast amount of new knowledge
has emerged from the behavioral sciences. Much of it relates directly
to human resource management. Today’s managers must be aware of
this knowledge and be capable of utilizing it.
• Human resource development specialists must know more than the
topic to be presented in a training program. They must also have
some understanding of basic learning principles. The purpose of
training is to change employee behavior, and information must be
learned if change is to occur.
• Successful accomplishment of other human resource functions can
have a significant impact on HRD. For instance, if recruitment and
selection efforts attract only unskilled workers, an extensive HRD
program may be needed to train entry-level workers. Training and
development efforts may also be influenced by the firm’s
compensation package. A firm with a competitive program may find it
easier to attract qualified workers, which substantially influences the
type of training required. Moreover, a competitive compensation plan
may help lower the turnover rate, thereby minimizing the need to
train new workers.
• A firm’s employee relations efforts can also influence the HRD
program. Workers want to feel that the company is interested in
them. One way to express this interest is through management’s
support of HRD. The HRD process can also train managers to deal
more effectively with employees and their problems. Managers can
be taught to treat employees as individuals and not merely as
numbers.
• The emphasis a firm places on it’s employees’ health and safety can
also affect the HRD process. Providing a healthy and safe environment
can benefit all other human resource functions as the firm gains a
reputation as a rewarding place to work.
References
• Mondy, R. Wayne and Noe, Robert M. Human Resource
Management. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1993.

• Swanson, Richard and Holton, Elwood. Foundations of Human

Resource Development. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers,
Inc., 2001.
Reflect on the following incident:
“As the initial training session began, John Robertson, the hospital
administrator, spoke of the tremendous benefits he expected from the
management development program the hospital was starting. He also
complimented Brenda Short, the human resource director, for her
efforts in arranging the program. As he finished his five-minute talk, he
said, “ I’m not sure what Brenda has in store for you, but I know that
management development is important and I’ll expect each of you to
put forth your best effort to make it work.” Mr. Robertson then excused
himself from the meeting and turned the program over to Brenda.
• For several years Brenda had been trying to convince Mr. Robertson
that the supervisors could benefit from a management development
program. She believed that many problems within the hospital were
management related. Reluctantly, Mr. Robertson had agreed to
authorize funds to employ a consultant. Through employee interviews
and a self-administered questionnaire completed by the supervisors,
the consultant attempted to identify development needs. The
consultant recommended twelve 4-hour sessions emphasizing
communication, leadership and motivation. Each session was to be
repeated once so that supervisors who missed it the first time could
attend the second offering.
• Mr. Robertson had signed the memo that Brenda had prepared,
directing all supervisors to support the management development
program. There was considerable grumbling but all the supervisors
agreed to attend. As Brenda replaced Mr. Robertson at the podium,
she could sense the lack of interest in the room.
• Questions:
• 1. Have any serious errors been made so far in the management
development program? What would you have done differently?
• 2. What advice do you have for Brenda at this point to help make the
program effective?”
• The incident/case was taken from the book of Mondy, R. Wayne and
Noe, Robert M, Human Resource Management, 1993, p. 315.