Human Resource Development Review recent issues

The Epistemology of Practice: An Argument for Practice-Based Research in HRD

Dirkx, J. M. — 2008-08-18

Strategic Intellectual Capital Development: A Defining Paradigm for HRD?

Holton, E. F., Yamkovenko, B. — 2008-08-18

The performance paradigm of human resource development (HRD) practice has served the field well, particularly in enhancing the relevance and impact of HRD interventions. However, in this article, it is argued that the time has come for a new defining paradigm to advance the field of HRD to a higher level of organizational impact. This article proposes that strategic intellectual capital development (SICD) should be that new paradigm. The argument for SICD is built by merging two streams of research. First, the development of human capital theory is traced through to its expanded conceptualization of intellectual capital theory. Second, the argument for a strategic approach is built off the strategic human resource management literature. The SICD perspective is offered as a robust and broad conceptualization that is essential for HRD to provide organizations the intellectual horsepower to achieve their strategic objectives.

Institutionalizing Ethics: A Synthesis of Frameworks and the Implications for HRD

Foote, M. F., Ruona, W. E.A. — 2008-08-18

Today, many human resource professionals are faced with the responsibilities of implementing ethics initiatives in the workplace. The integration of ethics is becoming an aspect of organizational life to counter unethical conduct, enhance the organization's reputation, and stimulate the attraction and retention of talent. Scholars believe ethical behavior must be institutionalized—evidenced in daily practices and rooted in organizational culture—to sustain ethics in the workplace. It is becoming increasingly clear that human resource development (HRD) professionals significantly contribute, and even more, to the process of institutionalizing ethics. This article synthesizes the literature by comparing several of the frameworks for the institutionalization of ethics that have been forwarded in research and theory during the past 15 years. Implications for HRD professionals as key contributors in the institutionalization of ethics process are discussed.

Human Resource Development and Project Management: Key Connections

Carden, L. L., Egan, T. M. — 2008-08-18

As human resource development (HRD) efforts increase in scope, complexity and link to increasing numbers of key stakeholders, so do demands for careful and systematic execution of HRD implementation. Use of project management strategies and tools is an emerging solution for HRD implementation. Using a systematic literature search, intersections between project management and HRD literature are outlined. Key findings are presented for both articles that explore project management— and HRD-related issues explicitly as well as emerging HRD literature that may have import for HRD-related concerns. A summative figure, conceptual framework, propositions for HRD project management, and implications for research, theory, and practice are discussed.

Workplace Commitment: A Conceptual Model Developed From Integrative Review of the Research

Fornes, S. L., Rocco, T. S., Wollard, K. K. — 2008-08-18

This article investigates the previous research and theories of workplace commitment using content analysis and concept mapping. It provides a conceptual model of workplace commitment, integrating the literature on organizational commitment, occupational/career commitment, and individual commitment. The significance of this article lies in the integration of the extant literature on commitment and the development of a conceptual model of workplace commitment and related propositions derived from the literature. The article discusses interventions that can be used by human resource development (HRD) researchers and practitioners to improve organizational performance by developing workplace commitment in the organization.

Economics and Human Resource Development: A Rejoinder

Wang, G. G., Swanson, R. A. — 2008-08-18

This article focuses on the areas agreement between two recent and seemingly disparate Human Resource Development Review articles by Wang and Swanson (2008) and McLean, Lynham, Azevedo, Lawrence, and Nafukho (2008). The foundational roles of economics in human resource development theory and practice are highlighted as well as the need for comparative studies. A framework for conducting comparative human resource development policy studies is proposed.

Using a Problem Orientation to Frame Issues in Human Resource Development

Chermack, T. J. — 2008-08-18

What We Know,What We Don't Know,What We Need to Know--Integrative Literature Reviews Are Research

Yorks, L. — 2008-05-28

The Four-Factor Taxonomy of Relocation Outcomes

Matthiesen, J. K., Tissington, P. — 2008-05-28

Relocation, an intraorganizational geographical transfer, can be used for human resource development (HRD) because of the positive developmental effects it can induce. It is, thus, important for HRD professionals to understand the implications of relocation to ensure it is used appropriately and effectively as an HRD technique. Research on relocation is abundant but presently lacks integration. This article introduces the Four-Factor Taxonomy of Relocation Outcomes, which summarizes, organizes, and guides research in this area. The taxonomy provides researchers with four dimensions along which to consistently classify relocation outcomes: valence (positive vs. negative), duration (length of effect), magnitude (strength of effect), and quality (type of effect). The article concludes with a discussion of implications for HRD practitioners and researchers.

Toward the Employability--Link Model: Current Employment Transition to Future Employment Perspectives

Thijssen, J. G.L., Van der Heijden, B. I.J.M., Rocco, T. S. — 2008-05-28

This article goes into a critical analysis of the concept of employability, its development across historical periods, its components, and different strategic approaches to enhance workers' employability throughout their career. Given the need for a systematic analysis and more empirical research in the field, the authors come up with the so-called employability—link model that is aimed to guide future practitioners and researchers as far as their specific choices as regard core components of the concept that ought to be made. The article concludes with a thorough onset of possible future research questions that are assumed to be of importance given the current labor market situation. The employability—link model has implications for individual and organizational career interventions aimed at increasing life-long employability.

Institutional Change, Absorptive Capacity, and the Organizational Zone of Inertia

Godkin, L. — 2008-05-28

A framework of theoretical propositions is presented as a heuristic to describe the potential linkage between institutional absorptive capacity and organizational inertia. Means through which insight inertia and action inertia might be addressed are presented. A series of propositions and associated literature are presented for illustration. The concept of a zone of inertia is incorporated to facilitate understanding of the variables involved.

Toward an Integrated Model of Expertise Redevelopment and its Implications for HRD

Grenier, R. S., Kehrhahn, M. — 2008-05-28

Traditionally, expertise theories have focused on skills acquisition with little regard for the domain or contextual factors affecting expertise development and retention. Because the development, retention, and recruiting of individuals with expertise is critical to organizational success, it is essential that HRD professionals understand the influence of such factors on individuals, and how to address these changes and the redevelopment of expertise. This article proposes a Model of Expertise Redevelopment (MER) illustrating the redevelopment of expertise in three states—dependence, independence, and transcendence. Connected through continuous development, the states are influenced by three territories: content, constituency, and environment. Although the model can explain the initial development of expertise, it is the model's representation of the impact of change on existing expertise that makes it unique. It also contributes to a broader theoretical foundation for research on this topic and calls for further investigation of the interconnectedness among the three states and the territories influencing expertise redevelopment.

Integrative Literature Review: Workplace Incivility: Impacts on Individual and Organizational Performance

Estes, B., Jia Wang, — 2008-05-28

Although workplace incivility has been found to negatively impact individual and organizational performance and interfere with the creation of a civil and respectful workplace, the phenomenon has been largely overlooked by the field of human resource development (HRD). This article reviewed the workplace incivility literature to provide a better understanding of the characteristics, prevalence, trends, causes, and impacts of this phenomenon in contemporary workplaces. The review indicates that workplace incivility frequently occurs and is harmful; however, it is generally not well understood and accordingly not recognized as an issue needing attending. Therefore, this article calls for research attention from HRD scholars. The authors further provide HRD practitioners some guidelines that may assist them in identifying and dealing with uncivil behaviors at work and ultimately bringing out the desired individual and organizational performance.

A Response to Wang and Swanson's Article on National HRD and Theory Development

McLean, G. N., Lynham, S. A., Azevedo, R. E., Lawrence, J. E.S., Nafukho, F. M. — 2008-05-28

Wang and Swanson (2008) have provided a critique of the current state of the research and theory of national human resource development (NHRD). In this article, the authors provide a critique based on the following issues: insistence on a single paradigm of truth or reality, theory development methodology, the bounding process, the definitional process, scope of NHRD efforts, and reliance on economics (and only development economics).

Critical Reflection and Related Higher-Level Conceptualizations of Learning: Realistic or Idealistic?

van Woerkom, M. — 2008-02-11

Do Organizations Learn? Some Implications for HRD of Bateson's Levels of Learning

Tosey, P., Mathison, J. — 2008-02-11

This article explores and appraises Gregory Bateson's theory of "levels of learning" and its implications for Human Resource Development, with reference to issues of organizational learning. In Part One, after briefly reviewing Bateson's biography, the origins and contents of the theory are described. In Part Two, three particular features of the theory are explored, together with their implications for Human Resource Development: (i) The significance of the recursive relationship between the levels; (ii) It not being a stage theory of learning; "higher" levels of learning are neither superior to, nor necessarily more desirable than, lower levels; and (iii) Its emphasis on the notion of context. In Part Three, the discussion emphasizes the holistic nature of Bateson's theory, in that the levels of learning combine cognitive, embodied, and aesthetic dimensions. Some limitations of the theory are reviewed and then concluded by considering its perspective on the question, "do organizations learn?"

Antecedents and Consequences of Social Network Characteristics for Expatriate Adjustment and Performance in Overseas Assignments: Implications for HRD

Osman-Gani, A. M., Rockstuhl, T. — 2008-02-11

In this conceptual article, the literature on expatriate social network and its relationships to adjustment and performance in overseas assignments have been reviewed exhaustively. By identifying some gaps and inconsistencies found in the literature, a typology of research on expatriate network explanations has been proposed based on whether the aim is to explain performance variation or adaptation to local practices and norms, and also whether their explanatory mechanism is based on the structure or resources of the network. Specific propositions for each of the four resulting approaches have been developed. It has also been recommended that future researchers should study antecedents of social network structure because of their relevance to HRD interventions. The implications for HRD research and practice have been discussed at the end.

Why Organizations Choose to Manage Diversity? Toward a Leadership-Based Theoretical Framework

Ng, E. S.W. — 2008-02-11

Research suggests that equal employment opportunity (EEO) legislation and affirmative action programs (AAPs) have been only partially successful in promoting women and minorities in the workplace. Firms are voluntarily pursuing diversity management, but only when business objectives coincide with the needs of women and minorities. Thus, the question of what factors are needed to help women and minorities advance in the workplace merits further investigation. Although top executive support is believed to be crucial to managing diversity, few studies have linked CEO commitment to diversity outcomes. This article proposes a theoretical framework for linking CEO commitment to diversity practices. Specifically, CEO commitment is expected to mediate the relationships between the leader's demographic characteristics and personal factors—consisting of values, cognition, and leadership styles—and a firm's strategic orientation toward managing diversity. This article further argues that without CEO commitment, institutional and environmental factors (e.g., legislation) are limited in promoting workplace diversity. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The Idea of National HRD: An Analysis Based on Economics and Theory Development Methodology

Wang, G. G., Swanson, R. A. — 2008-02-11

Recent human resource development (HRD) literature focuses attention on national HRD (NHRD) research and represents problems in both HRD identity and research methodology. Based on a review of development economics and international development literature, this study analyzes the existing NHRD literature with respect to the theory development methodology. The study presents four propositions that challenge the present idea of NHRD. This study concludes that the methods used in the NHRD literature fall short in rigor when compared to economic theory research. This study also presents detailed implications for NHRD policy research and theory development.

Integrative Literature Review: Diversity Management Interventions and Organizational Performance:A Synthesis of Current Literature

Foster Curtis, E., Dreachslin, J. L. — 2008-02-11

Despite the growing body of literature focused on diversity management and its implications for career experiences and perceptions, team dynamics, customer service, and other dimensions of organizational performance, a significant gap remains. To address the gap, this article reviews the managing diversity literature published between January 2000 and December 2005 to identify the subset of the literature that examines the effectiveness of specific diversity interventions implemented in organizations. Only 38 such studies were identified. We conclude that the current evidence base provides limited guidance to human resource professionals as they design and implement diversity interventions. Each study identified in the review is categorized by research methodology and by type of intervention: diversity training and education; mentoring; and other organizational development interventions. Characteristics of effective interventions are identified. Gaps in the literature and areas for future research are described.

Low-Skilled Adults in the United States: A Case of Human Resource Underdevelopment

Torraco, R. J. — 2007-12-27

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

London, M., Sessa, V. I. — 2007-12-27

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.

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

Sachau, D. A. — 2007-12-27

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.

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

Carbery, R., Garavan, T. N. — 2007-12-27

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.

Who or What Creates? A Conceptual Framework for Social Creativity

Watson, E. — 2007-12-27

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 creative outcomes, socially constructed creative outcomes, and socially generated creative outcomes.

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

Opengart, R. — 2007-12-27

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 needs of the American workplace. Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs were examined for their content and compared to research on critical emotional intelligence skills for the workplace. Emotional intelligence literature was reviewed, as was the SEL literature. The two literatures were compared to identify gaps so that practitioners of human resource development have a basis on which to consider important areas for training programs in emotional intelligence.