Showing papers in "Human Resource Development International in 1999"
TL;DR: In this paper, case-study research into human resource development (HRD) within three small organizations in the north west of England is presented, focusing in particular upon one case in the voluntary sector.
Abstract: This article draws upon case-study research into human resource development (HRD) within three small organizations in the north west of England. It positions the case-study work within an overall framework of doctoral research and summarizes the research design; discusses the characteristics and values of small organizations and how they influence HRD policies and practices: presents findings and conclusions about HRD in the case-study organizations, focusing in particular upon one case in the voluntary sector; compares and contrasts the different models of HRD in the three cases; and concludes with some suggestions for further research.
108 citations
82 citations
TL;DR: The similarities and differences between organizational development (OD) and human resource development (HRD) have been discussed in this paper, where the authors argue that HRD is living in the shadow of OD because it is slow to recognize its roots in the debates of that discipline.
Abstract: The paper attempts to describe the similarities and differences between organizational development (OD) and human resource development (HRD). While it is argued that HRD practitioners need to acquire some of the skills of OD consultants, these are likely to be limited to the development of personal skills and learning in the attempt to achieve intrapreneurialism and personal transformations. We argue that HRD is living in the shadow of OD because it is slow to recognize its roots in the debates of that discipline. It is therefore suggested that HRD will recognize its true potential only when it identifies its core knowledge and skills. We argue that HRD can find its essential identity in four main ways: by focusing on the organization's business strategy; by devolving responsibility to line managers; by adopting an employee-centred approach to learning; and by emphasizing workplace learning. However, a wider behavioural understanding and a greater degree of reflectiveness in relation to the politics of ch...
56 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of corporate change programs on the emotions and ultimately the performance of the so-called "middle managers" within these organizations were examined, and the extent to which Hochschild's highly original writing on the commercialization of human feeling is applicable to managers in today's organizations was addressed.
Abstract: This paper addresses the effects of corporate change programmes on the emotions and ultimately the performance of the so-called ‘middle managers’ within these organizations Drawing on empirical data from a recent case study in a large engineering company, the paper addresses the extent to which Hochschild's highly original writing on the commercialization of human feeling (1983) and the concept of emotional labour is applicable to managers in today's organizations Emotional labour is defined as: ‘the management of feeling to create a publicly observable facial and bodily display’ requiring one ‘to induce or suppress feeling in order to sustain the outward countenance that produces the proper state of mind in others’ (Hochschild 1983: 7) The conclusion reached is that emotional labour appears to be a growing but much ignored phenomenon in organizations today, which is worthy of attention and further research by the HRD community
48 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate the organizational learning process of UK small businesses and provide a linkage between a staged model of internationalization and the informal and often unrecorded learning experiences of those involved in the venture.
Abstract: Organizational learning is fundamentally important for business development and this article analyses and evaluates the process in smaller businesses that seek to grow through operating internationally. The requirement for organizational learning is often underestimated by those involved in the business as well as by policy makers for whom support for small businesses is a priority and this impacts negatively on the performance of the newly internationalized firm. Using a case study approach to investigate the organizational learning process of UK small businesses, the article provides a linkage between a staged model of internationalization and the informal and often unrecorded learning experiences of those involved in the venture. The key learning requirements of the internationalization process are identified and important elements in the transfer of learning from the individual to the organizational level are analysed.
34 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compared two models, termed as transplant model and process model, to evaluate the impact of international collaboration in management education and training in Russia, and concluded that the transplant model provides an effective framework for staff development, but only when accompanied by a commitment to organizational learning on the part of the institutions involved.
Abstract: This paper is based on evaluative research into contrasting approaches to international collaboration in management education and training in Russia. Summarizing the findings of two case studies carried out between 1992 and 1996, the first a collaboration between two institutions, aimed at the validation and delivery of a British MBA in Moscow, the second a Tacis-funded project in the oil and gas region of Western Siberia, the paper outlines and compares two models, exemplified in the cases. These are termed: a) the transplant model, in which the aim is product development, and b) the process model, the aim of which is staff development. The unintended, or incidental, impact of the projects on the Western institution is considered alongside the intended impact on the Russian organization. The conclusion drawn is that the process model provides an effective framework for staff development, but only when accompanied by a commitment to organizational learning on the part of the institutions involved. This ap...
27 citations
TL;DR: This article explored the evaluation practices of a sample of organizations in England and Wales who had signalled some commitment to training and evaluation by embarking on the UK's Investors in People (IiP) standard.
Abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the evaluation practices of a sample of organizations in England and Wales who had signalled some commitment to training and evaluation by embarking on the UK's Investors in People (IiP) standard. A questionnaire survey was sent to 1,000 firms and usable responses were received from 394 organizations. It was found that formative and delayed evaluations were used less frequently than immediate and context (needs analysis) evaluations. In the majority of cases the responsibility for evaluation was that of managers and the most frequently used methods were informal feedback and questionnaires. Operational reasons for evaluating training were cited more frequently than strategic ones. Information derived from evaluations was used mostly for feedback to individuals and to inform the training process and less for return on investment decisions. There were some statistically significant effects of organizational size on evaluation practice. The results are discussed in terms ...
22 citations
21 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared and considered the processes of reorganization within two East German firms and discussed how certain institutional environments in each case have a constraining or enabling effect on specific modes of organizational learning.
Abstract: This paper compares and considers the processes of reorganization within two East German firms. How certain institutional environments in each case have a constraining or enabling effect on specific modes of organizational learning will be discussed. In the reorganization process of both companies three phases can be distinguished, which we call structuralist, empirical learning and constructivist. However, the amount learned from one's own experience differs in breadth and intensity in each phase and in each case.
18 citations
18 citations
TL;DR: In this paper Shale and Garrison's model of distance education developed in the late 1980s is updated and critiqued for the late 1990s through the addition of Internet-based distance education tools.
Abstract: The history of distance education began over a hundred years ago. During the Industrial Revolution, technological developments in areas such as transportation and communications led to major advances in the delivery of distance education. Recent developments with Internet technology, such as electronic mail, newsgroups, chat lines and the World Wide Web, have created another revolution in the capacity to deliver high-quality, cost-effective distance education. In order to take full advantage of using Internet-based tools in human resource development (HRD) initiatives such as training and development, there is a need for a clear model that defines the range and types of Internet-based tools available. In this paper Shale and Garrison's model of distance education developed in the late 1980s is updated and critiqued for the late 1990s through the addition of Internet-based distance education tools. If properly understood and implemented, these Internet-based tools can lead to instruction that is highly int...
TL;DR: In this paper, a research project carried out in a municipality over a period of three years, using a symbolic approach to competence development, illustrates the research project and illustrates the analysis of the symbolization processes which took place during the consultation.
Abstract: A deep-lying assumption nested in the civil service culture is that of competence. The article illustrates the research project carried out in a municipality over a period of three years, using a symbolic approach to competence development. Competence is defined as a symbolic field, an imaginary territory comprising the ideas, projects and emotions that subjects attribute to their organization within a metaphorical map which represents the texture of organizing. Possessing competence or being competent is the dilemma which provides the key to the analysis of the symbolization processes which took place during the consultation. The social representation of competence highlights the relationships between organizational actors (the competent civil servant, the competent boss, the competent politician, the competent administration, the competent citizen) and their mutual image. Competence therefore becomes a relational concept.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe dynamic changes in the Japanese HRD system and discuss two HRD models, current and emerging, which are used to examine linkages to human resource management and the work system in Japan.
Abstract: This paper describes dynamic changes in the Japanese HRD system. The focus of discussion is on two HRD models, current and emerging, which are used to examine linkages to human resource management and the work system in Japan. Implications relative to new HRD roles and possible interventions in the new model are also provided.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors stress the need to resolve the concept of power itself into more differentiated notions, and propose that clarification may be derived from distinctions once explicit in the vocabulary of Classical antiquity, but lost in modern European languages.
Abstract: Management, human resources, organization, control, leadership, etc., all seem to be just so many euphemisms for power, and this suggests a discourse of management and organization that calls things by their proper name. This paper on the contrary stresses the need to resolve the concept of ‘power’ itself into more differentiated notions, and proposes that clarification may be derived from distinctions once explicit in the vocabulary of Classical antiquity, but lost in modern European languages. It argues that nothing but confusion in thinking about organizations, management and legitimation can result from the failure to recognize that the phenomena this vocabulary identifies and distinguishes are irreducibly different.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present data gathered from a series of structured group discussions conducted with managers and professionals in the UK retail financial services sector (banking, insurance and mortgage lending) to illustrate how changing structures are impacting on professional skills and roles.
Abstract: Many writers predict that emerging new organizational structures will displace the traditional hierarchical structures. This paper looks at the skill implications for ‘professionals’ as these changes take place. It presents data gathered from a series of structured group discussions conducted with managers and professionals in the UK retail financial services sector (banking, insurance and mortgage lending) to illustrate how changing structures are impacting on ‘professional’ skills and roles. Six key trends, identified in the group discussions, are examined in the light of models which predict the way ‘professionals’ will be managed over the next few years. These trends are illustrated by short case examples or vignettes.
TL;DR: A research project has been initiated in Denmark by the Ministry of Business and Industry and the Danish Business Development Council which aims at giving a coherent picture of the situation for in... as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: A research project has been initiated in Denmark by the Ministry of Business and Industry and the Danish Business Development Council which aims at giving a coherent picture of the situation for in...
TL;DR: A broadened perspective on the design of on-the-job learning environments recognizes the importance of the mechanisms used in co-ordinating work performance and of the roles individual employees and work teams can play in managing the learning process.
Abstract: In recent publications the importance of on-the-job learning for modern companies has been recognized, and proposals offered for structuring this type of learning, in order to make it more effective. One of the currently most dominant approaches to structuring on-the-job learning is the ‘experienced-colleague-as-an-instructor’ or, more briefly, the ‘Job Instruction’ model. This model is shown to rest on two pillars: task analysis and direct instruction. The organizational and educational premisses on which these two pillars, in their turn, are founded are scrutinized. This leads to a broadened perspective on the design of on-the-job learning environments. This perspective recognizes the importance of the mechanisms used in co-ordinating work performance and of the roles individual employees and work teams can play in managing the learning process.
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of literature of power and politics in organizations, its sources and how it is managed is provided, and a discussion of the implications for OD professional practice is provided.
Abstract: Power and politics are major factors that cannot be ignored by anyone interested in understanding how organizations work. Despite this recognition, the field of OD has been very slow in addressing these issues. Due to an increasing role for power and politics in organizations today, there is a need to assess and determine the implications of power and politics for OD professional practice. This paper provides a review of literature of power and politics in organizations, its sources and how it is managed. Considering the literature review, a discussion of the implications for OD professional practice is provided.
TL;DR: In the early 1990s, 180 Russian senior managers from four large state corporations participated in a training-needs analysis, which was to estimate the level of knowledge of how market economy concepts work in the West as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Management training as a facilitative process in organizational change is a complicated undertaking even in the most innovative companies in the West. The Russian context adds problems of cultural and management unfamiliarity with the socio-business and the political environment within which Western management trainers operate. In the early 1990s 180 Russian senior managers from four large state corporations participated in a training-needs analysis, which was to estimate the level of knowledge of how market economy concepts work in the West. They were asked to 1) state their organization's training objectives, 2) indicate their understanding of the process, and 3) indicate the level of their personal ownership in carrying out the training objectives. The results showed that Russian top industrial management had no experience of top decisionmaking processes, and individually they felt disorientated by the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Their historical understanding of their professional roles and d...
TL;DR: The stereotypical United Kingdom government statistician has moved away from having a role analogous to that of back-room data merchant towards one of being a front-line information consultant.
Abstract: The stereotypical United Kingdom government statistician has moved away from having a role analogous to that of back-room data merchant towards one of being a front-line information consultant. That move has required the development of new skills. This article describes the work to facilitate that learning, and in particular the factors that contributed to the success of consultancy skills training courses run in the UK by US American academics. Those factors are offered to reflective HRD practitioners as being suitable for consideration in other training situations.
TL;DR: In this article, the learning society test is used to test whether a learning society can pass the test, and the results show that it does not pass all of the test cases.
Abstract: (1999). Does the learning society pass the test? Human Resource Development International: Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 157-162.