Critical Human Resource Development Research Articles

Decolonising gendered discourse and practices in HRD: towards transnational feminist solidarity and sustainability

ABSTRACT Gender issues at work are increasingly ‘transnational’—extending and operating across national boundaries. Human resource development (HRD) scholarship and practices that essentialise marginalised women without considering the transnational oppression structure only reinforce gendered systems globally. This paper provides a framework for transnational feminist HRD (TFHRD) praxis to address transnational gender issues at work. The paper describes transnational feminism, introduces gender-related issues at work from a transnational feminist perspective, and identifies transnational gender discourse in HRD. Integrating transnational feminist studies and the Bierema-Callahan critical HRD model, this paper suggests TFHRD actions towards transnational feminist solidarity and sustainability through decolonising gendered discourse and practices in HRD.

Does Critical HRD really exist outside academia?: An interview study with nine Critical HRD scholars

Purpose The complex world in which we reside is calling for more critical approaches to address the precarity experienced by the most marginalized in social systems. However, human resource development (HRD) lacks empirical data to describe, define and project the objectives and future directions of Critical HRD in today’s turbulent and volatile times. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine the historical and contemporary progression of Critical HRD, as described by nine of its most well-known scholars. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through semistructured interviews, and a constructivist grounded theory coding approach was applied during analysis to identify themes and patterns. Findings The findings of this study highlight the persistent scholarship versus practice divide among Critical HRD scholars, suggesting that Critical HRD may merely be an academic undertaking and something not practiced within the public domain. The authors call for an evolution of Critical HRD toward more practice- and action-oriented approaches to scholarship and teaching so that meaningful changes can take place in actual organizations and workplaces. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study was the first to empirically show that there is a real research–practice gap, particularly among Critical HRD scholars. Critical HRD scholars need to take these findings seriously as an opportunity to reflect on how they can take Critical HRD to the next level beyond academic discourse.

Optimizing expected policy outcomes through creative problem structuring: Police human resource development policy in the southeast Sulawesi regional police, Indonesia

This study aims to investigate the problem structuring process using creative methods to create well-structured problems, and how it can optimize the expected policy outcomes of human resource development in regional police. This study uses a qualitative research method by integrating qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and administrative data. Five informants were purposively selected, four of whom were authorized officials in the field of human resource development at regional police institutions, and the other was a prominent civic organization activist. The interview data were analysed using qualitative interactive models, while directed content analysis was applied to administrative data. The results of the study show that the problem structuring process in human resource development policies for regional police is limited to identifying the main elements of problem definition through the partial use of brainstorming methods and classification analysis. Such a problem structuring process cannot create well-structured problems that optimize expected policy outcomes of human resource development. However, the use of creative problem-solving methods in a comprehensive manner can optimize the expected policy outcomes from the development of more critical and collaborative human resource development in the regional police force.

Hair Bias in the Workplace: A Critical Human Resource Development Perspective

The Problem Managers and other individuals in the workplace may have a bias, either conscious or unconscious, against Black women based on their appearance. Since slavery, Black people with lighter skin complexion and straighter hair have been given preferences and privileges not afforded Black people with darker skin or those with naturally kinky hair. This study brings this subtle form of discrimination to the attention of Human Resource Development professionals and sheds light on how such interactions may affect their learning, development, and performance. The Solution Using a critical Human Resource Development lens, we suggest that managers, organizational leaders, and decision-makers are educated to recognize and address hair bias. Leaders must ensure compliance with the CROWN Act and legislation that prohibits discrimination against natural and protective hairstyles. The Stakeholders Stakeholders include U. S. Human Resource Development professionals, hiring managers, recruiters, and leaders who are concerned with hiring and promoting diverse talent.

Sustaining the critical in CHRD in higher education institutions: the impact of new public management and implications for HRD

ABSTRACT Adoption of Critical Human Resource Development (CHRD) and its capacity to change practice is influenced by the political context. HRD professionals learn to challenge their political context through CHRD teaching and research in the ‘safe space’ of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Yet, the increasingly global discourse of New Public Management (NPM), associated with what we call new performance measurement, constrains engagement with CHRD. This paper demonstrates the impact of NPM and research performance measurement on HRD scholarship, CHRD agendas, HRD professional development and HRD practice through discourse analysis of Impact Case Studies and their underpinning research as presented in the UK government’s 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF 2014). Use of national research evaluations with a focus on impact is currently spreading across the globe, and so is of international significance. We identify that although CHRD is consistently adopted in underpinning academic research publications it does not transfer into written impact cases. We conclude that context has the power to silence CHRD, and we challenge CHRD scholars to seek alternative formats to inform practice that do not disguise potential negative impacts. We also caution that silencing critical academic voice diminishes the ability of pedagogic curriculum to challenge and enhance HRD practice.

Emotion in teams: a scoping literature review

PurposeThe empirical findings of the roles of emotions in teams are mixed. This study, a scoping literature review, aims to synthesize extant research on the roles of emotions in work teams and offers future research directions.Design/methodology/approachSixty-nine empirical studies from the past ten years (2012 to 2021) were identified and reviewed. The authors then analyzed these 69 papers based on their research design, focus and nomological network of emotions.FindingsThe authors found that there is a clear increasing research trend of studying emotions in a team setting. In the extant literature, team emotions were studied from three major perspectives: emotions, emotional management and emotion measurement. The authors also summarized findings into the nomological network of team emotions. Last but not least, future research directions regarding the research context, focus and design and analysis were recommended.Originality/valueThe role of emotions in teams has not been extensively reviewed or synthesized, and the empirical findings are mixed. This paper synthesized the role of emotions in teams and critical factors that affect emotions in teams. In particular, the research recommendations for critical human resource development scholars cover three aspects: research context advancement, research focus advancement and research design and analysis advancement.

Five Practices for Building Local Capacity in Sustainability-Driven Entrepreneurship for Place-Based Transformations

There is a growing interest in how entrepreneurship animates deliberate sustainability transformations across societal levels. Few studies, however, have provided an empirically grounded account of practices employed by sustainability-driven entrepreneurial organizations for sustainability transformations. We address this gap by applying the critical Human Resource Development (CHRD) framework to identify practices for developing organizational and community capacity conducive to sustainability transformations in two cases of sustainability-driven entrepreneurship in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Serra da Capivara National Park, Brazil. We used case study methodology to identify five practices by conducting a reflexive thematic analysis with qualitative data from key informant interviews, documents, and secondary sources. Our results show that each practice was strongly oriented by relational values of care and social–ecological systems thinking. Both humans and nonhumans were taken as stakeholders who participate in and benefit from practices. Caring for the local place, place-based learning, and regenerative organizing appeared to be relevant for learning and development interventions that imparted significant changes in the local social–ecological context. We updated the CHRD framework to incorporate a nonhuman dimension and highlight caring, place-based learning, and regenerative organizing as essential areas of engagement in which HRD practices in support of place-based sustainability transformations occur.

Tempered radicalism as an approach to revisiting indigenous forms of critical human resource development

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to present a conceptual framework to guide the design, development, implementation and evaluation of education and human resource development (HRD) efforts in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThis paper draws on the concept of a tempered radical approach to provide a framework for a critical HRD (CHRD) and explore ways by which this view can contribute to developing HR who possess the requisite tools and character to function efficiently in the 21st century and beyond. This paper followed a multidisciplinary integrated literature review approach. This paper also reviewed relevant models and theories that align with the goals of this research to provide a broader view of the problems with HRD in Ghana and to help develop a framework that seeks to provide a sustainable guide for those involved in HRD activities in Ghana.FindingsA positive outcome from the synergistic alignment between modern science and indigenous ecological knowledge moderated by the principles of CHRD will result in economic growth and development. HRD’s contribution to economic growth and development and its consequential benefit to the actors will depend on how best CHRD goals are accomplished.Practical implicationsThe mediating role of the tempered radicalism will help modify the swiftness with which education and HRD programs are executed in Ghana.Originality/valueThis paper presented the tempered radicalism approach as the quintessential model for education and HRD initiatives in Ghana. The application of tempered radicalism in HRD literature is novel.

Genderwashing: the myth of equality

ABSTRACT Genderwashing is an organizational tool that presents the myth of gender equality in organizations through discourse and text. To critique this organizational myth, this paper contributes a new perspective and theoretical definition for genderwashing. We outline how genderwashing activities are underpinned by economic over ethical motives, which are grounded in a desire to uphold an organization’s reputation, sometimes at the expense of employee well-being. Our presentation of genderwashing is grounded not only in the work of Critical Human Resource Development (CHRD), but also in Dorothy Smith’s concept of ruling relations. These lenses enable us to examine how superficial attempts to address gender inequality within organizations fail to create structural change or disrupt engrained power dynamics. Furthermore, drawing on Sara Ahmed’s work on diversity and institutional silencing, we argue that genderwashing represents an organizational stance that purports to practice equality, even while women and other marginalized individuals experience little or no advancement. In regards to gender inequalities, we focus on how one organizational text, the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) works to reinforce gender inequalities in organizations. We conclude with a call to action for practitioners and scholars offering suggestions for how to move beyond the stultifying practices of organizational genderwashing.

From Chess to Queergaming: ‘Play’ing with and disrupting heteronormative assumptions in the performance of gender and sexual orientation

ABSTRACT The conceptual framework presented in this paper draws on metaphors of ‘Game’ and ‘Play’ to illustrate how tacit and invisible heteronormative assumptions and gendered power dynamics pervade organizations. In this way, it illuminates how such assumptions and restrictions impact and marginalize LGBTQ* people that do not conform to heteronormativity. Using metaphors of Chess and MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), the paper explores limits of prescriptive dualistic understandings of gender and sexual orientation, specifically from the perspective of lesbian women, as basis for disruption and to start opening space for LGBTQ* difference through queergaming. We argue that the concepts presented are a useful vehicle to increase inclusivity within HRD research and examine its practices more critically. In doing so, the paper seeks to answer calls from within the field of critical human resource development (critical HRD) to diversify HRD scholarship by expanding and challenging prevalent notions of heteronormativity.

Including Critical Whiteness Studies in the Critical Human Resource Development Family: A Proposed Theoretical Framework

While the human resource development (HRD) literature has made strides to incorporate critical race theory, critical Whiteness studies has not been substantively addressed. White experiences need to be incorporated into organizational learning literature in racialized ways. Unpacking the racialized experiences of Whites in organizational settings is important because it challenges the often-unstated assumption that White experiences are normal and neutral. The uncritical centering of Whiteness is part of what makes the marginalization of racialized others possible, and critical Whiteness studies research seeks to contribute to the decentering process. This article integrates literature exploring racialized White experiences from disciplines, including history, sociology, theology, and legal studies within an existing framework for HRD. This research will place special emphasis on aspects of critical Whiteness that relate to the workplace. The purpose of this article is to advance a theoretical framework that will enhance HRD’s capacity for research and action pertaining to workplace racism.

Exploring human resource development research themes: A keyword network analysis

This study aimed to explore human resource development (HRD) research themes by investigating the relationships among keywords in articles published in the four primary HRD journals between 2010 and 2017. We identified 29 core keywords and then explored the characteristics of these keywords within a keyword network structure. For example, leadership and leadership development were identified as dominant keywords in HRD research. Furthermore, our analysis revealed four cohesive subgroups (i.e., factions) and identified keywords that played “central connector” roles and “boundary spanner” roles, within each subgroup. Specifically, subgroup 1 consisted of keywords connected to leadership and leadership development. Subgroup 2 included keywords related to traditional HRD practices and organizational outcomes, such as training and development and engagement, respectively. Subgroup 3 mostly consisted of keywords pertinent to critical HRD, such as gender and diversity. Subgroup 4 included other emerging keywords including virtual HRD. Through this study, HRD scholars and practitioners may better understand the roles of influential keywords, and their inter‐relationships among key research themes in HRD research.

ADVANCING Women Academic Faculty in STEM Careers: The Role of Critical HRD in Supporting Diversity and Inclusion

The Problem The low representation of women and women of color (WoC) faculty in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) academic disciplines represents a critical talent development issue by constraining universities from being truly diverse and inclusive therefore limiting the development and advancement of women scientists. The Solution We describe the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) ADVANCE program as a mechanism for increasing STEM women and WoC faculty career development, inclusion, and advancement. We situate this program as a critical human resource development (CHRD) project and analyze the interventions of ADVANCE Centers at five institutions using a coding scheme based on Acker’s theory of organizational gendering. We identify how key interventions address gendered processes and how these efforts align with human resource development (HRD) disciplinary expertise. The Stakeholders This article will benefit HRD scholars and professionals by identifying how HRD disciplinary expertise can be used to support institutional change efforts focused on faculty diversity and inclusion.

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

ABSTRACTThough 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.

The Subjective Perceptions of Critical HRD Scholars on the Current State and the Future of CHRD

We intended to understand the currently predominant viewpoints or bodies of knowledge relative to critical human resource development (CHRD) based on personal meanings and viewpoints to a particular concept of CHRD naturalistically rather than in a theoretically induced meaning of CHRD. This research was designed to examine the subjective perceptions of CHRD scholars on the current state and the future of CHRD using Q methodology. A total of 13 CHRD scholars from the United States and the United Kingdom were asked to impose their opinions using 36 statements that were constructed according to a conceptual framework of theory–practice–research about CHRD in the current study. As a result, we identified three unique perspectives with regard to the current state and future of CHRD: (a) CHRD as an alternative HRD theoretical lens; (b) pluralistic views on CHRD practice in a broader context; and (c) the future prominence of CHRD in the HRD academic community. This revealed several implications in terms of content and practical application of criticality in organizations, which are expanded to the implications for theory, practice, and education of HRD.

Preparing the transnational teacher: a textual analysis of pre-departure orientation manuals for teaching overseas

The purpose of this article is to critically analyse pre-departure manuals for transnational teachers and to suggest changes to human resource development (HRD) professionals when producing future manuals. Drawing on the principles of critical human resource development theory, the study employs textual analysis to analyse manuals from nine different international agencies or schools that employ transnational teachers. The textual analysis identified three dominant themes in the data: information not education, ‘good’ work habits as self-regulation, and the (dis)connection of professional and personal backgrounds. Study findings suggest that agencies narrowly rely on instrumentalist material to the detriment of personal and cultural knowledge and human agency of transnational teachers. HRD personnel in international educational agencies may wish to create future manuals that problematize taken-for-granted knowledge and promote teacher agency.

Making the Invisible Visible: A Cross‐Sector Analysis of Gender‐Based Leadership Barriers

Despite an abundance of educated, qualified women in the workforce, they continue to be underrepresented at the top of institutional leadership hierarchies. Theories of gendered organizations explain that work processes reproduce gendered structures of society in the workplace. These processes advantage men while forming barriers to women's success. This paper extends critical human resource development (HRD) theory by applying the concept of sexism hidden in the workplace to leadership and by outlining both social and organizational practices that create gender inequities in leadership. Our cross‐sector analysis of women leaders in religion and higher education revealed twenty‐seven gender‐based leadership barriers which operate at the macro, meso, and micro levels of society. We argue that most current efforts to promote women into leadership focus one by one on only a few barriers, primarily those within organizations, while failing to take into account the wide variety of barriers and their prevalence across all societal levels. We offer strategies to address barriers across all three levels to help organizations create gender‐equitable leadership environments.

The Problem of Transgender Marginalization and Exclusion

Dialogue about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people remains undervalued in Human Resource Development (HRD). Most of HRD’s LGBT-related research has focused on sexual orientation, giving little attention to what differentiates transgender people—gender identity and/or expression that differs from assigned sex at birth. Transgender issues are particularly important to HRD practice, as practitioners increasingly aim to create diverse and inclusive organizations, but there is a lack of understanding about what it means or is like to be transgender. The purpose of this article was to situate transgender experiences as relevant and important issues for HRD, providing critical actions HRD scholars and practitioners might take to shape a more inclusive reality for transgender people in the workplace.

What Type of Leaders Are We? Understanding and Enhancing Critical Human Resource Development Identity in the United States

The Problem These are the days of grand, interdisciplinary, and global challenges. For example, there is widespread acknowledgment within the scientific community that climate change is happening. The financial meltdown caused thousands of families to lose their homes, and environmental debacles like the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico generated economic, social, and public health concerns.These are problems—not necessarily human resource development (HRD) problems—but problems nonetheless that impact the people, communities and organizations we lead and serve.We are the leaders, change agents, consultants, and educators whom organizations, communities, and people turn to for their development and training needs. The Solution I believe HRD scholars should proactively develop a critical orientation to economic, social, cultural, and environmental issues currently plaguing the planet. With such a critical perspective, we can develop a CHRD leadership identity and challenge hidden assumptions and work with others to expose environmental, human, and economicexploitation.The accomplish this goal, I believe, we should examine the historical emergence of critical HRD identities and thenintentionally create critical leadership development opportunities for more HRD professionals to enact critical HRD more of the time. The Stakeholders Communities, individuals, organizations, the planet.

Critical Legal Perspectives and the Advancement of HRD

Established Human Resource Development (HRD) practices may elevate corporate interests and subordinate individual interests. Critical HRD professionals can instead transform workplaces into a more level playing field that genuinely values diversity. Drawing on the existing theory, specifically Brookfield's (2005) marriage of Foucauldian notions of power and the critical tradition, this article explores how utilizing a model of legal power as productive, rather than repressive, can reinforce HRD’s commitment to social justice and uncouple organizations from their often repressive histories. HRD professionals are urged to use the critical perspective to not merely comply with labor laws that address workplace injustices and serve to reshape possibilities, but to genuinely enact social change by enhancing new power structures. This article will demonstrate the role HRD practitioners can play in placing critical and postmodern perspectives on power relations into practice within organizations as they respond to changes in law and policy