Showing papers in "Human Resource Development Review in 2007"

Training Transfer: An Integrative Literature Review:

Abstract: Given the proliferation of training transfer studies in various disciplines, we provide an integrative and analytical review of factors impacting transfer of training. Relevant empirical research for transfer across the management, human resource development (HRD), training, adult learning, performance improvement, and psychology literatures is integrated into the review. We synthesize the developing knowledge regarding the primary factors influencing transfer—learner characteristics, intervention design and delivery, and work environment influences—to identify variables with substantive support and to discern the most pressing gaps. Ultimately, a critique of the state of the transfer literature is provided and targeted suggestions are outlined to guide future empirical and theoretical work in a meaningful direction.

Resurrecting the Motivation-Hygiene Theory: Herzberg and the Positive Psychology Movement

Abstract: Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory is a popular but controversial theory of employee satisfaction. The theory was at the center of a long debate that focused on conceptual and methodological problems with the theory. Now, more than 30 years after the debate and despite multiple claims that Herzberg's theory is dead, emerging research from the field of positive psychology is surprisingly consistent with basic tenets of the motivation-hygiene theory. It may be time to resurrect Herzberg's theory. This article includes a summary of the motivation-hygiene theory, a clarification of long-standing misinterpretations of the theory, and an examination of the fit between Herzberg's theory and contemporary research on happiness, intrinsic motivation, and materialism. The benefits of returning to Herzberg's model are discussed.

Training Failure as a Consequence of Organizational Culture

Abstract: Organizations spend as much as US$200 billion annually on training and development; however, much of this investment appears squandered on ill-conceived or poorly implemented interventions. Scholar...

What Do We Actually Mean by Experiential Learning

Abstract: The concept of “experiential learning” is used in a wide range of connections and situations with a different meaning and content. It is the aim of this article to try to find a common definition o...

Making Transfer Climate Visible: Utilizing Social Network Analysis to Facilitate the Transfer of Training

Abstract: In this article the authors introduce social network analysis (SNA) as a methodology for analyzing transfer climate prior to training. The literature has indicated that transfer climate is critical to a trainee’s ability to apply the new knowledge, skills, behaviors, and attitudes they gain through training back to the workplace. SNA serves as a tool for analyzing a participant’s organizational network relationships prior to training to help the facilitator, trainee, and supervisor gain an accurate picture of the transfer climate. Based on this analysis, measures can be taken to develop strategies to deal with relational barriers prior to training that will facilitate the participant’s transfer of learning back to the work environment. The process of conducting SNA is described and illustrated using a case example. The benefits of using SNA to enhance transfer climate and the implications for further research and practice are discussed.

Integrative Literature Review: Human Capital Planning--A Review of Literature and Implications for Human Resource Development.

Abstract: The shift in the U.S. economy from a manufacturing powerhouse to a service-driven economy has placed a great emphasis on human capital planning within organizations in order to remain competitive i...

Who or What Creates? A Conceptual Framework for Social Creativity:

Abstract: Creativity is increasingly understood as a social phenomenon, especially in organizational contexts. This article offers a conceptual framework for social creativity that integrates perspectives from published literature. The foundational questions that structured the literature review are twofold. First, because both individuals and entities, such as teams, can be agents of creativity, who or what creates? Second, through what sites of action or contexts does creative engagement by individuals, groups, and organizations occur? An integrative review of the literature reveals that the engagement occurs in individuals, in individuals interacting, in group work, and in complex multilevel systems.A concept map is used to represent the literature in this domain. This is then discussed with reference to the representative authors in each of the identified sectors. A set of names for the outcomes of the creative process is suggested, including individually generated creative outcomes, socially influenced creativ...

The Dilemma of Defining International Human Resource Development

Abstract: From the beginning of the use of the term human resource development (HRD) to describe our field, there have been struggles over the meaning of the term and, even more broadly, of the field itself. In recent years, there has been increased attention to the question of the field’s definition, in general, as well as attention to the emerging field of national HRD. This article moves this exploration one more step toward an exploration of the dilemma of defining international and cross-national HRD. A beginning definition is offered, not as a definitive answer but to facilitate ongoing discussion in the dialogue on HRD definitions.

Theory Framework for Applied Disciplines: Boundaries, Contributing, Core, Useful, Novel, and Irrelevant Components

Abstract: Most applied disciplines are attempting to make significant advancements in articulating the theoretical foundation of their fields of study. The theory discussions and theory research in most applied disciplines are not held together in a manner that allows interpretation and integration. This article presents a holistic theory framework for applied disciplines to help scholars and practitioners create and critique the theory of an applied discipline as well as the contributing, core, useful, novel, and irrelevant theory components within it. Each of the six components in the framework are described and illustrated through relevant theory examples. The role that each component plays in advancing the theory and practice in an applied discipline is also examined.

Toward a General Research Process for Using Dubin's Theory Building Model

Abstract: Dubin developed a widely used methodology for theory building, which describes the components of the theory building process. Unfortunately, he does not define a research process for implementing his theory building model. This article proposes a seven-step general research process for implementing Dubin's theory building model. An example of a theory building process is used to explicate a research process that will aid new theorists and reviewers of theory in conceptualizing a rigorous and systematic process to implement Dubin's model.

Birds of a feather? The critique of the North American Business School and its implications for educating HRD practitioners

Abstract: The recent vehement and highly visible critique of the North American business school curriculum illuminates core tensions in the field of human resource development (HRD) related to the role and responsibility of the profession in for-profit organizations and the educative process by which future practitioners are prepared. If the business school critique, raised by eminent management scholars in the academy, has validity, then an instrumental and functionalist orientation to HRD is not adaptive but, in fact, is counterproductive and shortchanges the needs of business organizations for transformational change and development. Based on a review of the business school critique and research on HRD academic programs in the United States, the author argues for a broader emphasis on systemic change and the transformative potential of the profession based on critical human resource development and positive organizational scholarship.

Determining the Probability That an Employee Will Stay or Leave the Organization: A Mathematical and Theoretical Model for Organizations:

Abstract: This article offers a simple mathematical and theoretical model for understanding voluntary turnover, as an interdisciplinary (social, psychological, and economic contexts) and multidimensional (employee, organization, and social affiliate) construct The model provides a mathematical formula, received from assumptions, intended for use in determining the “probability that employees will stay or leave” an organization versus the traditional approach of determining the “intentions of staying” and/or the “intentions of leaving” the organization Differences between existing concepts (intentions of quitting) and this model are discussed The model hypothesizes that the “probability of staying or leaving” the organization (E(Pi)) or (1(Pi)) should be positively related to the employee’s “intentions of quitting” the organization The model does not focus on the numerous individual determinants of employee turnover, as is the case with existing voluntary turnover models, but focuses on these determinants as internal (Employer [E]) and external (Social Affiliate [i]) factors relative to the Employee (P), who either stays with or leaves the organization The article also suggests that leaving and staying behaviors are concepts on the same platform They are not different thoughts or necessarily opposites

Goal Rationalities as a Framework for Evaluating the Learning Potential of the Workplace

Abstract: There is conflicting empirical evidence regarding the learning potential of the workplace. Some studies conclude that workplaces should be seen as strong learning environments, whereas others show evidence of the ineffectiveness of the workplace as a learning environment. In this article, we argue that this disagreement might be caused by different goal rationalities in relation to the institutions that are involved in workplace learning. For economic reasons, societies have organized learning in a preparatory rationality: education as preparation for work. The learning potential of the workplace is often discussed from this goal rationality. In this article, this preparatory goal rationality is challenged by arguing that other rationalities in workplace learning should also be taken into account. Rationalities of optimizing goals, transformative goals, and personal goals are discussed. The model of goal rationalities that is developed in this article must be kept in mind when evaluating the learning potential of the workplace: different goals imply different evaluation criteria.

Conceptualizing the Participation of Managers in Career-Focused Learning and Development: A Framework

Abstract: Protean, boundaryless, authentic, and portfolio careers increasingly challenge managers to be proactive and self-regulated. Managers are expected to manage their careers, develop employability, and continually learn. This article proposes a conceptual framework to explain manager participation in career-focused learning and development. It proposes that participation by managers in career-focused learning and development should be understood in terms of the relationship between individual agency and context. The authors suggest three levels to their framework and identify ensuing implications for research and practice.

The Development of Group Interaction Patterns: How Groups Become Adaptive, Generative, and Transformative Learners

Abstract: This article integrates the literature on group interaction process analysis and group learning, providing a framework for understanding how patterns of interaction develop. The model proposes how adaptive, generative, and transformative learning processes evolve and vary in their functionality. Environmental triggers for learning, the group’s readiness to learn, stage of development, control mechanisms, and facilitation influence the interaction patterns that emerge, are reinforced, and repeated over time. The model has implications for research on the evolution of adaptive, generative, and transformative group learning and for diagnosing group conditions and implementing interventions that promote group learning.

The Dynamics of Vertical and Horizontal Diversity in Organization and Society

Abstract: Diversity focuses on human characteristics that make people either different from or the same as each other. This article introduces the concepts of vertical and horizontal diversity. Vertical dive...

An Examination of Interracial Contact: The Influence of Cross-Race Interpersonal Efficacy and Affect Regulation

Abstract: The ability of employees to interact cooperatively and collaboratively is the fulcrum of competitive advantage for organizations operating in pluralistic environments. Contact theory suggests several conditions under which effective interpersonal relationships across racial, ethnic, and cultural groups may occur: Research examining the contact hypothesis has been mixed. The explanation of this inconsistency in the research generally centers on procedural rather than cognitive aspects of the interactions. This article discusses the contact hypothesis with respect to social cognitive functioning of interaction participants. We propose that positive outcomes from application of the contact hypothesis may be influenced by the individual employees’ level of cross-race interpersonal efficacy and affect regulation. An investi gation of the influence of cross-race interpersonal efficacy and affect regu lation may lead to a more developed theoretical understanding of the variance currently associated with the application of the contact hypothesis.

Integrative Literature Review: Emotional Intelligence in the K-12 Curriculum and Its Relationship to American Workplace Needs--A Literature Review.

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to review the content of existing social— emotional learning programs in the American K-12 curriculum and the relationship between the school-based programs and the n...

Avoiding Malpractice in HRD...Five Imperatives for HRD Professionals in Organizations.

Abstract: Human resource development (HRD) practitioners are increasingly being called upon to become more evidence-based in their approaches. This article urges HRD professionals to practice five imperatives in order to ensure ongoing competence. These imperatives include practicing conscious competence, asking for the evidence and research base for solutions, researching strategic HRD issues, partnering with researchers, and staying current in the field.

Learning Environment at Work: Dilemmas Facing Professional Employees

Abstract: In an effort to increase efficiency and democracy, the modernization of the public sector has involved an increase in market and user control, an increased application of technology, a decentralization of responsibilities and competencies, and more management and personnel development initiatives. The concept of modernization signals a novel use of language and related concepts such as decentralization, self-management, self-government, de-bureaucratization, quality control, and user influence. These terms may sound positive on an intuitive level but constitute a source of uncertainty as to what is actually taking place. The article analyzes the learning environment in two governmental worksites in Denmark and shows how professional employees respond to the dilemmas posed by modernization at work.

Response to May and Bowman: Human Resource Development— Multiparadigmatic, Multidisciplinary, Open-Ended, and Complex:

Abstract: and nonapplied sessions. Without fail, the responses were of appreciation for instruction that provided conceptual frameworks and language constructs to more adequately express managers’ experience of the places they worked in and the situations they encountered. To paraphrase a typical response: “We came here looking for challenging and adequate frameworks that allow us to understand better the world and organizations we work in. We know that the simplistic frameworks are useless, and we also know that we need to find the answers to the issues our organizations face ourselves.” It is agreed that the important role of HRD practitioners in organizations is to provide insight, explanation, and wisdom for action to address many pressing and difficult problems. Their solutions, however, require a higher level of analysis than that which created the issues in the first place; alternative paradigms are able to provide these explanatory systems from which novel solutions can arise. Even Swanson, a self-confessed skeptic of postmodern approaches (Swanson, 2002) and ardent defender of a performance-focused reading of HRD, emphasizes the important role of HRD in countering tendencies toward oversimplification, greed, problem avoidance, and ethical misconduct (Swanson, 2006). “Other than HRD, there is very little infrastructure in most organizations that upholds the potential and integrity . . .” (p. 368). HRD’s role is to safeguard the voice of the stakeholders, counsel toward appropriate intensity and timing of action, and “relentlessly advocate a rational range of equity in the distribution of financial and non-financial rewards and recognition” (p. 368). Such a broad agenda requires the inclusion of the full range of human sciences, disciplines, and paradigms. University departments educating HRD professionals have the duty to ensure that the curriculum provides these. Writing from these paradigms exists, of course, already in the canon of management scholarship; one can think of Calas and Smircich’s (1999) thoughts on the influence of postmodern thinking on management theory and equally of Aktouf ’s radical humanism (1992), Martin’s work on culture (2005), Alvesson and Willmott's writings on critical management (2003), and many others. In addition, there is a movement afoot among management scholars to augment the behaviorally oriented approach to organizational psychology with increased attention to positive organization scholarship (Cameron, Dutton, & Quinn, 2003). Adult education and some scholars writing within the HRD tradition have also contributed from nonfunctionalist approaches. These texts need to find their way into MBA or HRD courses, and their lack should be seen as a major omission in the preparation of future leaders. HRD in Colleges of Education My second short remark is about the role of colleges of education as homes for HRD programs and the career prospects of education graduates who major in human resource development. Just as HRD programs do not, as Gary correctly points out, have a lock on employee-centered subject matter, so do Kuchinke / RESPONSE TO MAY AND BOWMAN 139 business schools not have a monopoly position on research and theories related to organizations. True, business schools do yield power in their role of educating and training future managers, but other units on a typical university campus, such as communications, psychology, sociology, industrial relations, and many others, add valuable knowledge about issues of importance to organizational functioning. This multiplicity of perspectives is valuable from research and practical points of view because the various disciplinary approaches generate alternative solution strategies and increase the range of potential action patterns. In the United States, HRD programs emerged in colleges of education because business schools did not fill the need for professional training and qualified HRD personnel. As these programs grew during the 1980s, they exhibited a high degree of entrepreneurial energy and flexibility in serving a variety of organizations, including small and medium-sized businesses, not-for-profit organizations, large corporations, and the government. Today, graduates from my own institution, for example, regularly build successful careers in consultancies, hospitals, higher education settings, community-based organizations, the armed services, and large companies. In addition, it is not at all unusual for international students with HRD degrees to be appointed to government posts where they influence regional, national, and international policy. True, there may be initial hesitation by some employers, but the career histories of HRD graduates, from my experience, are highly robust and successful. In addition, HRD’s focus on continuing professional development makes it attractive to professional schools. At Illinois, to give another personal example, HRD faculty and students are currently engaged with the College of Engineering and the College of Medicine to revise the graduate-level curricula to prepare future engineers and doctors for sustainable and successful careers. The University of Illinois Extension—serving the citizens of the state through outreach training and education—has selected the HRD department for assistance with performance management consulting specifically because of its grounding in education. An Extension curriculum development project on character and business ethics for owners of small and medium-sized business, again, drew on the expertise of education faculty. A professional association of some 250 chief learning officers, HRD directors, and training managers in the Chicago area—the Chicagoland Learning Leaders—is made up, in large part, of education graduates holding senior management positions in large public and private organizations. These examples and many others that could be cited underscore the success and potential of education-based HRD professional training. HRD professionals, in their daily work, are able to answer Peter Drucker’s question about adding value to the customer by viewing the organization holistically and from the various stakeholder positions. True, some schools of education still view themselves, as training institutes for public school teachers. Notwithstanding the importance of this task however, under good leadership, colleges of education are taking up the challenge 140 Human Resource Development Review / June 2007 of assuming a broader role and asserting their place in our advanced knowledge economy in which lifelong learning in multiple formal and informal settings is becoming a reality. Of course, collaborations with business schools should be increased as should be the connection between HRD programs and other professional schools. In my mind, however, relocating HRD programs in colleges of business would come at the risk of losing the breadth of scholarship and autonomy that is so characteristic of HRD research and academic programs.

Invited Reaction: Birds of a Feather? HRD and Business Schools Should Flock Together.

Abstract: Peter Kuchinke has written a powerful and relevant article that should generate much discussion in the human resource development (HRD) community. Kuchinke’s main point is clear: just as the master of business administration (MBA) curriculum has undergone a withering critique about relevance in today’s rapidly changing marketplace, HRD programs need to undergo a similar examination. He then sets the stage for further discussion by offering a critique of HRD curricula, highlighting the implications and providing some recommendations for the field and its academic programs. Though not explicitly stated, Kuchinke is addressing the most important problem facing the field of HRD: the inability of most HRD professionals to bring leadership to the mission-critical functions of their organizations. I applaud his analysis but have concerns about some of his conclusions. I would put the issue in the form of a question: What do HRD professionals need to do to gain respect and get business executives to pay attention to what they bring to the table? I can help answer that question within the context of Kuchinke’s article. I write this response from the perspective of my personal experience as a businessperson, with a career of 32 years in the corporate world, holding titles including senior vice president and chief learning officer; as a former student, earning an undergraduate degree in business and a master’s and doctorate in HRD; and now as a professor in a school of business, teaching courses in communication, leadership, and strategy. A brief word of caution before you read further: some members of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) are not going to like what I have to say. I have three points I want to make. First, the field of HRD does not have a lock on core values such as respect for human capital and a concern for ethical and social responsibility. Kuchinke does a wonderful job of recapping the extensive critique of MBA programs that has appeared in both the popular and academic literature. But he omits the rest of the story. Business schools are

Observations about Submissions and Publication in HRDR

Abstract: Being part of the editorial process of a journal such as Human Resource Development Review (HRDR) offers the opportunity of experiencing firsthand the vitality and diversity of perspectives on the field as both a scholarly enterprise and a medium for informing effective practice. One comes to appreciate the breadth of the field and the issues emerging within it. In the case of a theory journal like HRDR, this breadth is reflected not only in the range of topics represented in the manuscripts submitted, but also in the scope of reviewer comments and their assessments of the readiness of a paper for publication. After 2 years of reading the recommendations of our reviewers I must say how appreciative Rich, Sheri, and I are of their dedication as reflected in their detailed and thorough observations. Not formally recognized in the authorship of virtually every paper published are the scholarly contributions of the referees. Thank you. While I often speculate that some new authors are surprised by the range of recommendations for publication received for some papers (one reviewer recommends minor revisions, two reviewers recommend extensive revisions, and one reviewer reject), I have also been impressed by the consistency in the points made by the various reviewers in the specific comments made to authors. Typically, the reviewers point to the same problems in the manuscript regardless of their overall recommendation. The overall recommendation is a synthesis of the reviewers’ assessment of the importance of the paper and the relative scope of the revisions required, not the issues that need addressing. Of course these differences in recommendations also sometimes reflect the diversity of perspectives in the field and different preferences for writing style. And, in many cases, the weight of the assessment centers in one direction or the other, making the final editorial decision reasonably straightforward. Having said the above, there are certain issues that are recurring across many manuscripts. These are revisions that are commonly referred to in editorial letters to authors. Paying attention to these issues prior to initial submission can minimize the overall revisions that need to be made to a manuscript and also make the task of reviewers easier. Here I call attention to five issues that are most often mentioned in editorial letters to authors. These will not be new to seasoned scholars, but hopefully useful for new and emergent writers.