International Human Resource Development

Learning, Education and Training for Individuals and Organizations

John P. Wilson, John P. Wilson

• Publisher: Kogan Page
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9780749461072
• Edition: 3
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Human Resource Management
• Index: Business

International Human Resource Development provides thought-provoking questions and stimulating answers to key issues in human resource development today, putting HRD in its strategic organizational context and examining in depth the process of learning from different perspectives. This third edition provides a thorough exploration of international human resource development, and has been completely updated and revised with a variety of case studies and contributions from a range of HR development experts, making it the most topical book in this field. It also addresses the increasingly important area of knowledge management, incorporating learning and development. Clearly structured and mapped against the current Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) standards, this comprehensive handbook covers each aspect of the training cycle, including the role and identification of learning, training and development needs in organizations, working in multicultural and multilingual settings, learning and competitive strategy, planning and design, delivering effective training programmes, assessment and evaluation, international development and managing the human resource function.

Part One

International human resource development and learning

01

International human resource development

JOHN P WILSON

The most valuable of all capital is that invested in human beings and of that capital the most precious part is the result of the care and influence of the mother.

(ALFRED MARSHALL, 1890: VI. IV. 11)

Learning outcomes

When you have completed this chapter, you should be able to:

• understand the differences and similarities between education, training, development and learning;
• understand the nature of human resource development (HRD);
• be familiar with the pyramid of HRD and the six main areas;
• understand the broader considerations of international HRD;
• understand the relationship between HRD and HRM;
• understand the importance of human capital.

Introduction

The field of international human resource development (IHRD) is a large one, encompassing formal education, personal education and training, training and development in organizations, and learning and training at national and international levels. Often, these areas are considered separately in order to narrow the scope and simplify understanding; however, this has resulted in a number of significant limitations. Firstly, and perhaps most fundamentally, many underlying theories, principles and practices are common to all of these areas. Secondly, boundaries between the disciplines inhibit the transfer of ideas and innovations, thus slowing the potential for improved learning. Thirdly, the boundaries are relatively porous to the movement of labour, and many teachers, trainers, coaches, developers and other personnel move between schools, colleges, universities and other organizations, transferring ideas and practices. In addition, the multiplicity of disciplines also prevents joined-up thinking for strategists, particularly at organizational, agency, governmental and supra-national levels. Furthermore, these boundaries or divisions also have the potential to create conflict: with employers accusing educators of not considering the work skills needed by young people, educators accusing employers of thinking purely about their own needs and not the lifelong requirements of people, governments challenging both, employers restricting training to specific work-related skills, and other problems.

Without a broader awareness of the importance of learning across boundaries the various disciplines will fail to appreciate the broader context in which strengths can be increased and limitations overcome by sharing experiences. The quotation at the start of this chapter from the economist Marshall illustrates the importance of early care and nurturing by parents – is this not also human resource development?

In this chapter we will explore the foundations of human resource development and human capital and connect this with other chapters in this book.

Defining education, training, development and learning

Education, training, development and learning are closely related concepts, and we explore the latter in detail in Chapter 3. Below we compare and contrast these areas in order to provide some of the underpinning concepts of HRD.

Education

Traditionally, education has been associated with schools, colleges and universities and has a less immediate and less specific application than training. Education is regarded as encompassing knowledge, skills and attitudes (Bloom et al, 1956), and two helpful sources of definitions used here are the Manpower Services Commission’s (1981) Glossary of Training Terms, and Cedefop’s (The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training) (1996) Glossarium of educational and training terms in nine European languages. This glossary was developed to encourage understanding and cooperation between countries; the original intention was to standardize the meaning of terms in Europe, but partly due to linguistic and cultural differences the proposal was not adopted.

Education is:

activities which aim at developing the knowledge, skills, moral values and understanding required in all aspects of life rather than a knowledge and skill relating to only a limited field of activity. The purpose of education is to provide the conditions essential to young people and adults to develop an understanding of the traditions and ideas influencing the society in which they live and to enable them to make a contribution to it. It involves the study of their own cultures and of the laws of nature, as well as the acquisition of linguistic and other skills which are basic to learning, personal development, creativity and communication.

(Manpower Services Commission, 1981: 17)

Activities aim at developing the knowledge, skills, moral values and understanding required in all aspects of life rather than knowledge and skill relating to only a limited field of activity. The purpose of education is to provide the conditions essential for young persons and adults to develop an understanding of the traditions and ideas influencing the society in which they live and to enable them to make a contribution to it. It involves the study of their own and other cultures and the laws of nature as well as the acquisition of linguistic and other skills which are basic to learning, personal development, creativity and communication.

(Cedefop, 1996: 48)

Training

The historical antecedents of training have their roots in the Medieval crafts and guilds where the purpose of training was to enable indentured apprentices to work for a period of years under the supervision of a master craftsperson. Eventually, the apprentices learned the skills required of that occupation and would produce a complex piece of work, a ‘masterpiece’, incorporating much of what they had learned. This would then enable them to become members of the specific guild. Hence, today, we have the term ‘Master’s degree’, which illustrates that the person is, or should be, fully conversant with that area (see Chapter 7: UK vocational education and training).

The Manpower Services Commission (1981: 62) defines training as:

a planned process to modify attitude, knowledge or skill behaviour through learning experience to achieve effective performance in an activity or range of activities. Its purpose, in the work situation, is to develop the abilities of the individual and to satisfy the current and future needs of the organization.

Cedefop (1996: 52) defines vocational training as:

Activity or programme of activities designed to teach the skills and knowledge required for particular kinds of work… Training… usually takes place at working places, whereas education… takes place at education...

Table of contents

• International Human Resource Development
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Contents
• List of Figure
• List of Table
• List of in Practice Case Studies
• Contributors
• Preface
• Part One International human resource development and learning
• 01 Introduction to inventory management
• 02 Strategic human resource development
• 03 Strategic human resource development
• Part Two Organizational learning
• 04 Change management and organization development
• 05 Knowledge management
• Part Three National and international learning, education, training and human resource development
• 06 National systems of education
• 07 UK vocational education and training
• 08 European vocational education and training
• 09 National human resource development strategies: comparing Brazil, Russia, India and China
• 10 International development: policy learning as an approach to VET reform in transition and development countries
• 11 Capacity development and human resource development
• Part Four The training cycle
• 12 The identification of learning needs
• Part Four B Design
• 13 Designing learning events
• 14 Working in multicultural and multilingual environments: HRD professionals as learning and change agents in the global workplace
• Part Four C Delivery
• 15 Delivering training
• 16 Informal, non-formal and work-based methods of learning
• 17 Coaching and mentoring
• Part Four D Evaluation
• 18 Assessment and evaluation
• Part Five Managing HRD
• 19 Leadership and management development
• 20 Managing human resource development functions and services
• 21 HRD practice and research: investigating business issues through applied social science research
• 22 HRD and consultancy
• 23 Learning spaces that change people and organizations
• 24 HRD and business ethics
• index
• Copyright