Embracing the sobering reality of technological influences on jobs, employment and human resource development

2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 400-416 ◽  
Author(s):  
Szufang Chuang ◽  
Carroll Marion Graham

PurposeThis paper aims to provide a sobering and unique view of technological unemployment and job changes by identifying endangered jobs and skills, as well as the essential up-skills critical to employees’ performance, which cannot be replaced by technology.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review, used because it is replicable, transparent, and scientific, was implemented to examine the current and future technological influences on employment, job outlook, work structure, and human resource development (HRD).FindingsThe study concludes that HRD professionals should promptly reexamine their social responsibility relative to the technological influence on workers by focusing developmental efforts on employees’ human skills while assisting workers’ transition to a skill-polarized workplace. HRD professionals should play a major role in facilitating employees’ coexistence with robots in the workplace.Originality/valueWhile recognizing the valuable contributions of previous researchers with similar concerns, this comprehensive review provides an amalgamated and updated view, which reveals the escalating and combined challenges of a skill-polarized workplace, a tendency of technological unemployment for those positioned in middle-skill jobs, and an increased demand for employees with a higher level of human skills.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salima Hamouche ◽  
Zakariya Chabani

Purpose The labor market has witnessed the increase of the new forms of employment relationship (freelancers, contingent workers, and gig workers) due to the COVID-19 outbreak, generating new workforce patterns that represent a significant challenge for human resource development (HRD) professionals in organizations. Studies that have addressed these new forms of employment relationship and HRD during this pandemic are sparse. This paper aims to broaden the scope of HRD research by exploring the implications of these new forms of employment relationship for HRD in the time of COVID-19. It also provides insights for HRD professionals as well as governments into how to address this challenge. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a viewpoint that addresses the new workforce patterns generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and their implications for HRD at the organizational, individual and national levels. Findings COVID-19 sheds light on the importance of atypical workers who can create a competitive advantage for organizations, ensure their continuity and significantly benefit national and societal well-being in times of health crisis. However, these atypical workers are often overlooked when it comes to training and development. Whence the importance, for HRD professionals and governments, to address their situation and to integrate them into organizational and national HRD plans and programs, by going beyond traditional models of HRD which focus mainly on standard employees. Originality/value This paper examines a relatively unexplored topic. Besides examining the implications of the new forms of employment relationship, for HRD, it provides insights for HRD professionals and governments into how to address the challenges related to these new forms of employment relationship.


Author(s):  
Jay Andrew Cohen

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is in providing guidance to human resource development and frontline managers in shaping employee learning at work. Design/methodology/approach – This paper takes a viewpoint approach. Findings – This paper builds on recent discussions on the inseparable nature of working and learning: peripheral management practice that facilitates employee learning (Cohen, 2014) to focus on the practical activities that frontline managers can do to promote and facilitate employee learning. Originality/value – To the best of my knowledge and belief, this paper contains no material previously published or written by any other person, except where due reference is given in the text.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-44

Purpose – This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies. Design/methodology/approach – This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context. Findings – Globalization has inspired and created numerous questions, including many within the realms of human resource development (HRD). However, the focus of these questions tends to be from the point of view of developed nations and the effect on either their own HRD issues, and rarely consider what the effects are on developing nations and their HRD activities and policies. Yet, these questions should not be pushed to the back of the queue, as the extent to which HRD can progress effectively is dependent on both sides of the equation. Practical implications – The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations. Originality/value – The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.


2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 401-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Smith

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the potential for the application of benchmarking to human resource development (HRD) practice in the LIS sector.Design/methodology/approachThis paper outlines the principles of benchmarking, examines dimensions which may be useful in benchmarking HRD and focuses in particular on the potential for the application of benchmarking principles to HRD activity in the library and information services (LIS) sector. Several examples of emergent HRD benchmarking practice in the LIS sector are used to illustrate the application of benchmarking principles and methodologies.FindingsThe paper finds that HRD benchmarking has significant potential to become a powerful tool in ensuring good and improving HRD practice in the LIS sector.Practical implicationsThe paper offers practical information and advice to those considering the application of benchmarking principles and practices to HRD.Originality/valueThe paper examines an emergent area of professional practice in the LIS sector. As such it has particular relevance and applicability to those responsible for planning and managing in that sector.


2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 118-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander E. Ellinger ◽  
Andrea D. Ellinger

Purpose – There is an ongoing shortage of talented supply chain managers with the necessary skills and business-related competencies to manage increasingly complex and strategically important supply chain processes. The purpose of this paper is to propose that organizations can create and maintain competitive advantage by leveraging the expertise of human resource development (HRD) professionals to provide a range of developmental and change-oriented interventions related to critical supply chain manager skill sets that are currently in short supply. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper. Findings – This is a conceptual paper. Practical implications – Supply chain management (SCM) decisions significantly influence financial performance since firms expend up to 75 percent of their revenue on supply chain activities. HRD professionals' intervention capabilities in training and development, organizational development and change management uniquely equip them to disseminate a deeper and broader understanding of the SCM concept within organizations, to help prioritize the development of supply chain managers and to address the complex interpersonal issues associated with helping people to work together collaboratively to foster operational innovation and make increasingly complex supply chain processes function effectively. Originality/value – The requisite skill sets for effective supply chain managers are described, linkages between HRD and SCM are highlighted, and areas of HRD professionals' expertise that can be exploited to better develop supply chain managers' skill sets and competencies are considered.


2014 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 370-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maura Sheehan ◽  
Thomas N. Garavan ◽  
Ronan Carbery

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a prologue to the issue of sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and human resource development (HRD). Although issues of sustainability and CSR have become an important topic of research, there are few studies on this topic in the field of HRD. To address this gap, we edited a special issue of European Journal of Training and Development that explicitly focuses attention on sustainability and CSR issues in HRD. Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides an overview of the conceptualisation of sustainability and CSR and their relevance for the concept of sustainable HRD. We then outline the contributions of the authors of the six papers that make up the special issue. Findings – There are issues related to the conceptualisation and measurement of sustainability, CSR and sustainable HRD. The role that HRD plays in contributing to sustainability and CSR in organisations is not well understood. Originality/value – The paper introduces the special issue on sustainability, CSR and HRD. It shows that this is an under-researched area. However, we propose that a focus on sustainability and CSR will serve to advance the field of HRD and contribute to enhancing practices within organisations.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-235
Author(s):  
Hong Thi Thuy Nguyen

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the roles of human resource development (HRD) in open universities. The study also intends to assess the current situation of HRD at Hanoi Open University (HOU) with an end view of proposing some suggested recommendations to enhance HRD to improve the training quality and effectiveness at HOU. Design/methodology/approach The study’s first two parts refer to HRD’s role in open universities. The third one summarizes the existing research literature on HRD used as theoretical base for the author to evaluate the current HRD at HOU in the fourth part. The fifth part involves the methodology to gather the data on HRD practices at HOU while the next two important parts deal with the study’s findings and recommendations for better HRD at HOU. The final part summaries the study’s main points. Referring methodology, the survey data were analyzed through frequency, percentage and weighted mean as statistical tools. Findings The study’s findings show that HRD practices at HOU are not as effective as expected in terms of human resource quality, human resource structure and human resource management. There is a shortage of full-time well-qualified employees, inadequate and imbalance working positions, and un-synchronous, fragmented personnel management. Originality/value The study’s values are not only useful for building policies on HRD but also for developing strategies to train and foster capable and adequate staff in open universities’ academic environment and in HOU as well.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinyi Bian

Purpose The current review sought to bring light to the issue of an underexplored career phenomenon – career indecision. Career indecision is a significant developmental stage in one’s career life and has been a prominent topic in vocational psychology research in the past decades. However, it has received scant scholarly attention in the human resource development (HRD) field. Besides, the career indecision literature, in general, is lacking theoretical refinement and analytical review. The present study aims to stimulate HRD scholars’ interests by providing an introductory context for understanding the richness and potentialities of researching career indecision in the HRD area. Design/methodology/approach To address the gap, the author conducted an integrative review (Torraco, 2005, 2016) of 60 peer-reviewed articles and synthesized the existing knowledge of career indecision. More importantly, antecedent and outcome factors associated with career indecision were identified and analyzed. Findings A nomological network about career indecision was provided. Besides, the results of the integrative review revealed several omissions in the career indecision literature. Building upon that, implications for HRD research and practice are presented and discussed. Originality/value As an initial attempt to synthesize career indecision literature, this study sought to stimulate HRD professionals’ interest in examining this underexplored career phenomenon.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Alizadeh ◽  
Deepu Kurian ◽  
Shaoping Qiu ◽  
Khalil M. Dirani

Purpose The purpose of this study is to get the perspectives of human resource development (HRD) scholars about connections among HRD, corporate social responsibility sand ethics. The authors also sought to discover if HRD academic programs need to have ethics-related courses for their graduate students. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors reviewed the literature and interviewed ten HRD scholars who substantially contributed to the field of HRD and have influential publications related to ethics or corporate social responsibility to find out the relationship between HRD, ethics and corporate social responsibility. A semi-structured interview method was adopted to collect data and purposeful sampling technique was used for analyzing data into identified themes. Findings The results from the interviews were categorized into seven different themes. While some scholars argued that ethics-related discussion needs to be integrated within every course, most scholars stated that ethics can be a required standalone course for HRD graduate programs. Originality/value Despite ongoing consideration of the ethical nature of HRD, little research has been conducted on how ethics and corporate social responsibility are represented in the field of study and practice. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first empirical paper in HRD that collected and analyzed experts’ perspectives in this topic.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Fang ◽  
Panpan Zhang ◽  
Sehoon Kim

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore recent national human resource development (NHRD) practices in China through a literature review focusing on programs and activities that represent the roles and interactions among the government, industry and universities. Design/methodology/approach To effectively consolidate previous work and conceptualize the recent development of the NHRD practices in China, a semi-narrative literature review was used to explore and analyze NHRD-related functions and activities. Findings Findings from the literature review showed that although the central government still plays a predominant role in China, universities and corporations are increasingly playing a critical role in developing an innovative and skilled workforce. At the regional level, NHRD initiatives in China have been increasingly undertaken by universities, industry and government–industry–university collaborations. The authors also found a disparity between developed and underdeveloped regions in terms of NHRD in China. Research limitations/implications This study used the triple helix model as a framework that provides an insightful lens for researchers to examine how various social entities interact with each other and jointly contribute to NHRD. Further case studies are needed to generate evidence-based knowledge to the NHRD literature. Practical implications A more systematic NHRD leadership structure at both the national and local level is desired to unleash the potential of bottom-up development and active government–industry–university collaboration. To counter regional divergence in NHRD in China, intra- and cross-regional collaborations are helpful in improving resources distribution and workforce development. Originality/value Based on open system theory, this study focused on programs and activities that represent the roles and interactions among the government, industry and university in Chinese NHRD through the lens of the triple helix model. In addition, this study offers a conceptual model of Chinese NHRD to help scholars and practitioners understand the transitional efforts in NHRD.


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