Strategic Human Resource Development Research Articles

Learning patterns of teams at the workplace

PurposeWith the intention of detecting and describing a series of team learning patterns within a selection of organisations, an extensive exploratory and qualitative research project was conducted in seven phases. The study at hand aims to report on the most recent phase, namely eight case studies in the public employment service of Flanders (Belgium) and aims to expand the provisional typology of learning patterns and to explore the strategic relevance of these learning patterns in the light of a strategic human resource development (HRD) policy.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative research approach with a multiple case study design served as the methodological base. A total of 22 interviews in eight cases were conducted in the competence centres of the Flemish employment service, what brings the total to 40 cases and 150 interviews.FindingsHitherto, five basic learning patterns and 16 variations make up the provisional typology of learning patterns. The strategic relevance of the learning patterns varies with respect to the scope of the developed competences and the degree of orientation to future of the organisation and the career expectations of the employees.Originality/valueThe provisional typology of learning patterns has proven to be useful as a tool for the identification of configurations of workplace learning in teams. The exploration of the strategic relevance provides clues for the alignment of the HRD with the organisational strategy.

Human resource development and sustainability: beyond sustainable organizations

This conceptual paper draws upon the theory of the risk society to develop three propositions that argue that Human resource development (HRD) and sustainability lie in a mutually co-constructive relationship. While many have critiqued HRD for its scant attention to sustainably, this paper identifies how three models of HRD including strategic HRD, critical HRD, and holistic HRD currently respond to the ideologies that vie to define the sustainability project. It is argued here that if HRD scholars and practitioners are more deliberate in their relationship with sustainability, they will encounter new and powerful conceptual and ethical frameworks to address the long standing tension in the field. As HRD grapples with sustainability they will need to address its own developmental dilemmas, which may give rise to a new HRD; one that is more aligned with the dilemmas of today's complex, global society.

Feasibility Study for a Survey Measuring Abuse and Neglect of Older Adults

This feasibility study was prepared by Statistics Canada, under arrangement with the Strategic Policy Research Directorate, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC). It investigates issues associated with conducting surveys of abuse and neglect of older adults in community and institutional settings in Canada. A roadmap is provided for the work ahead, including options for a sampling frame, collection approaches, estimated costs, and an activity schedule.

The Prevailing Skills Crisis in South Africa

This article examines the skills development strategy of the City of Cape Town, a metropolitan government located in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. The strategy is largely integrated in nature and embraces the principles of Strategic Human Resources Development – an approach essentially borrowed from the private sector. In developing societies such as South Africa, the primary criticism is that the peculiar challenges prevailing in these societies make importation of “developed world models” highly complex and problematic. More specifically, the implementation of private sector models is even more complex when applied in public sector institutions. Therefore, this article critically examines the skills strategy of the City, its key components, and challenges confronting successful implementation in an effort to understand whether the Strategy is viable and appropriate in addressing the skills crisis confronting many municipalities in South Africa. The methodology is primarily qualitative and relies on both primary and secondary data sources.

Information pathways for the competence foresight mechanism in talent management framework

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to contribute to the research and literature through the development of the theme of competence foresight. In addition, the aim is to construct information pathways for the foresight mechanism, for the use of practitioners, to enable them to manage talent and competences with an anticipatory perspective.Design/methodology/approachThe research strategy is theoretical research with interpretive concept analysis approach. The research compares, compiles and combines theories and perspectives of strategic human resource management and development, talent management, competence management and foresight.FindingsThe results combine the information pathways and elements of the pathways for the competence foresight mechanism. The main three pathways in the mechanism are the pathways for detecting the needed competences for strategy implementation, the pathways for detecting rapid changes and the loss of competences.Research limitations/implicationsAs talent management frameworks are organization specific, so are the mechanisms and information pathways for competence foresight. The results can be adjusted and developed to fit into other organizations.Practical implicationsThe analysis and results provide the practitioners in human resources with new perspectives to use systematic foresight processes in talent management and development. The results can also be used for modelling the information pathways for the competence foresight mechanism in talent management software.Originality/valueThe research on human resources development and talent management does not deal with competence foresight. This paper addresses this deficiency and brings new, valuable perspectives of foresight and future studies for researchers and practitioners. This paper challenges further research on various aspects of competence foresight.

Learning patterns in organizations: towards a typology of workplace-learning configurations

To meet the need for continuous learning and development of their employees, organizations must set up a strategic human resources development (HRD) policy. However, it appears that, even before a systematic HRD policy is implemented, certain forms and modes of learning are already installed, and that classic top-down HRD policies cannot easily affect them. These already existing configurations of learning opportunities are conceptualized as ‘learning patterns’. The aim of this exploratory study is to elucidate the notion of ‘learning patterns’ and to present a provisional typology of learning patterns within organizations. A qualitative research approach with multiple case study design served as the methodological base. In total, 32 cases were investigated using 128 interviews. Findings result in a provisional typology of 5 basic learning patterns and 16 variations. In conclusion, the typology of learning patterns ‘under construction’ can serve as heuristic tool for further research into configurations of workplace-learning.

A Study on the Development Curriculum of Community College Based on The Strategic Human Resources Development

A Study on the Development Curriculum of Community College Based on The Strategic Human Resources Development

360 degree feedback: how many raters are needed for reliable ratings on the capacity to develop competences, with personal qualities as developmental goals?

360 degree feedback is a widely used technique in the area of strategic human resource management (SHRM) and strategic human resource development (SHRD). The reliability of 360 degree feedback on the capacity to develop personal qualities has been investigated. This study shows to what extent the number of raters is related to an increasing reliability and an enhancement of correlation between supervisor and peer ratings. Ten raters are needed to reach a satisfying reliability level of 0.7 for the rating of the capacity to develop personal qualities, while six raters are needed for a reliability level of 0.7 with regard to the rating of motivation to develop these qualities. The use of two or three peer raters, as is common in the daily HRM/HRD practice, results in low reliability levels and in low agreement between supervisor and peer ratings. These results imply that 360 degree feedback is more useful in a personal growth system than in an administrative system, where the outcomes of the feedback are considered to be objective representations of work behaviour. Further implications for the SHRM/SHRD practice, especially concerning the development of competences, with personal qualities as developmental goals, are discussed.

Gestão Estratégica de Pessoas na Universidade Metodista para Implantação de Educação a Distância

The present article approaches the management of people aligned to the strategy, with the focus on strategic planning and human resources development. Some characteristics of people management with the focus on commitment are: enriched work, generating challenges; the long term focus on employment; the intensive work on technology; decisions made in group; and training aiming to prepare the employee for future functions. This work was based on a case study of the Methodist University of Sao Paulo which, since 1998, due to the changes and competitiveness of the environment, strategically planned a technological advance and a future expansion in the direction of distance education mediated by the new information and communication technologies. The objective is to give an account of the institution’s actions to acquire and disseminate the id691437 pdfMachine by Broadgun Software a great PDF writer! a great PDF creator! http://www.pdfmachine.com http://www.broadgun.com

The Moderating Effect of Strategic Human Resource Development on the Relationship between Investment on HRD and Organization Performance

The Moderating Effect of Strategic Human Resource Development on the Relationship between Investment on HRD and Organization Performance

Validation of Strategic Human Resource Development Maturity Scale

Validation of Strategic Human Resource Development Maturity Scale

Exploration and Application of the Components of Strategic Human Resource Development and Human Resource Development Implementation Strategies

Exploration and Application of the Components of Strategic Human Resource Development and Human Resource Development Implementation Strategies

Botswana's Novel Approaches for Knowledge-Based Economy Facilitation

The Vision 2016, which is a set of strategic plans desired to position Botswana at the completive edge of the socio-economic hierarchy in Africa, is being implemented with concerted efforts from both the private and the public sector, including ordinary citizens. One of the major motivations for drawing this strategy has been the desire to transform Botswana from a resource and industry-based (e.g. agriculture and diamond mining) to knowledge-based economy. This has come from the realisation that in order to compete favourably at a global scale, there is need to put in place efficient knowledge value chains. To this course, several initiatives have been devised and/or implemented by both the government and the public sector. This article surveys the fundamental concepts on which this paradigm shift is hinged and brings out the different issues, initiatives and policies (such as Information and Communications Technology development, nurturing of an appropriate human resource base by way of strategic human resource development plans, investment in intellectual capital, etc.) that have been done so far in Botswana. The article, however, does not claim that it offers a compendium of existing programs towards a knowledgebased economy initiated by Botswana. The article posits that although significant strides have been scored in Botswana’s efforts towards a knowledge-based economy, a lot more needs to be done if it were to compete favourably at an international stage.

“People as Technology” Conceptual Model: Toward a New Value Creation Paradigm for Strategic Human Resource Development

This article proposes a “people as technology” (PT) conceptual model that introduces five key values providing connections of human resource development and technology development: location, use, maintenance, modification, and time. The PT conceptual model provides a scheme for identifying how HRD and technology development may change and/or mediate the relationship between organization employees and leaders. The relationships between people and technology can be better managed through the cognitive, behavioral, and/or cultural perspectives of the organization, create five key values, and produce competitive advantage for organizations.The PT conceptual model provides a theoretical framework for further research and practical applications of management practices, training practices, HRD philosophy, and HRD strategies within organizations.

The Routledge companion to strategic human resource development

The Routledge companion to strategic human resource development

Desperately seeking alignment: reflections of senior line managers and HRD executives

This paper offers a qualitative assessment of strategic human resource development (HRD) and alignment ‘in practice’ from the personal and organizational perspective of senior decision-makers in UK organizations. Semi-structured interviews with senior managers and HRD executives form the basis of the data, and allow an examination of the meanings and understandings attached to alignment and the extent to which they are affected by contextual factors such as organizational size and sector or the professional location of the interviewee. The paper indicates that experiences of HRD alignment are complex, ambiguous and contextually orientated. Alignment is depicted as an iterative process involving dialogue and bartering; involvement in different organizational and business planning processes, and the use of benchmarks and other organizational metrics. The data also suggest a range of tensions and challenges associated with the pursuit of alignment, and highlight approaches to organizing HRD that suggest passive rather than actively aligned practices. It concludes that the conceptual and practical difficulties of HRD alignment as it is presented in the strategic HRD literature and as it is described by those with experience of trying to achieve it may mean that it may be neither achievable nor even desirable.

Exploring the Strategic Role of Human Resource Development in Organizational Crisis Management

Crisis management has been a largely overlooked territory in human resource development (HRD) despite the increasingly recognized impact of organizational crises on the individual and organizational performance. This article explores the strategic role of HRD in the context of organizational crisis management using Garavan's strategic HRD model as a guiding framework to understand the various ways in which HRD can build crisis management capability in organizations. The authors apply various components of the model to the crisis management context and integrate ideas from both sets of literatures. The authors offer specific guidelines for HRD practitioners regarding how to align strategic human resource development focus, orientation, and strategies with the organization's overall crisis management efforts and identify areas for further research.

Disposition of Human Resource Development Structure in Manufacturing Firms in Malaysia

Problem statement: Human Resource Development (HRD) is rapidly gaining importance in manufacturing firms in Malaysia, as there are strong driving forces such as legal, financial and infrastructural support from the Government. This is because the Government believes that investment in human capital is key to the success of the country’s economy. However, this strategy may not be effective without the availability of a properly implemented HRD structure. Approach: The aim of this paper is to examine and report on the disposition of HRD structure in manufacturing firms in Malaysia. Its specific focus is the desirability and existence of separate HRD departments within organisations, as well as the size of these departments, the terms used to label them and the location of HRD within the organisational structure. This study employed a mixed-method concurrent research design, combining a questionnaire survey with personal interviews with HR managers from manufacturing firms in Malaysia. Results: The findings revealed that HRD in large firms is structurally strategically aligned, whereas small to medium firms are active in training and development and tend to focus on output rather than structure and strategy. Conclusion: Nevertheless, the findings of this study will enable employers to understand the importance of structure for the effective implementation of strategic HRD practice.

Game Theory and Strategic Human Resource Development

The problem and the solution .A fundamental approach to strategic human resource development (SHRD) planning is to present human resource development (HRD) investment as a viable solution to advance the organizational interactions. We examine two specific instances of interactions: the interactions between the firm and the employee, and the interactions between HRD and other functional areas within the firm. The prescriptive solution arising from the analyses presented here is a Nash equilibrium encouraging the firm to invest in frequent and continuous HRD. For HRD professionals, the prescriptive solution lies in providing measurable productivity and performance gains to organizational decision makers.

The strategic role of Human Resource Development in managing core competencies

The Resource-Based View (R-BV) of strategy emphasizes the importance of core competencies as the critical basis for sustainable competitive advantage. Yet, discussions of strategy typically ignore the role of the Human Resource Development (HRD) function in core competency development and management. The literature on strategic HRD is reviewed to locate the R-BV as a basis for redefining HRD's role in organizational strategy. Three strategic roles for the HRD function in core competency management are proposed and discussed: participating in strategic planning, developing core competencies, and protecting them. Specific tasks for each role are proposed. The final section identifies needs for further research as well as the practical implications from this discussion.