Introduction
Human resource development (HRD) is an extremely ramified term used in different sciences and approaches. To deal with the many definitions, one should spend quite a lot of time studying academic articles. Indeed, even in recent times, many useful texts have been written about HRD and its implications. The key aspects to be included in the definition of HRD are the psychological factor and attention to the importance of change.
Preferred Definition
Knowing the blurred borders of the term, the decision was made not to try to choose an all-encompassing definition but to focus on one that highlights the most important processes. Hamlin and Stewart (2010) presented a comparative overview of HRD definitions. One of the best ones is the classical definition by Frederick Harbinson and Charles Myers: “HRD is a series of organized activities conducted within a specified time and designed to produce behavioral change” (Hamlin & Stewart, 2010, p. 205). The reason why this definition is beneficial is that behavioral change may designate development within an organization both for personal and professional use. In other words, the broad applicability of word behavior helps to include different types of positive change that may occur. In addition, this definition indicates “organized activities”, so the behavioral development that happened without proposed policies is excluded. It helps determine the efficiency of organized learning experiences usually suggested to employees by an organization.
Considering the drawbacks of other definitions, there are several aspects to mention. First, many definitions are very long, making them difficult to remember and use in debates. Secondly, many new definitions exclude the notion of “behavior” from their sentences, while, as Aybas (2021) points out, it is an important part of HRD. The reason is that the revolutionary nature of the 21st century requires constant self-improvement and innovations. At the same time, Aubas (2021) indicates that “in times of change and transformation, <…> the psychological contract between themselves and the organization can be damaged” (pp. 139-140). Thus, it seems that the notion of “behavior” should receive more attention from modern scholars of HRD.
Comparisons of Other Mainstream Definitions
In the essay’s final section, some major definitions will be compared to clearly show how the scholarship on HRD has developed. The first definition is proposed by Watkins (2000): the aims of HRD are “to bring learning and change into an organizational context” (p. 54). This definition highlights the most important aspect of HRD because, without learning, it will be impossible to bring innovation. The indication of change is also an indispensable part of any definition of HRD. The limitation of Watkins’s definition is that it does not mention that learning aims to maximize effectiveness, so pure learning not intended for improvement may not be regarded as HRD.
Another important definition is formulated by Swanson and based on the importance of performance. In Swanson’s view, HRD is “a process of developing and unleashing human expertise through organization development and personnel training and development to improve performance” (p. 208). This formulation adds the aspect of effectiveness maximization into the definition, so in this regard, it is more overwhelming than the one by Watkins. Another advantage of the definition is that it includes “organization development” into the definition, which is a rare practice among scholars. However, because of this broad formulation, the boundaries of HRD are blurred, so it may be complicated to use this way of defining it in academic research.
Finally, after discussing the classic definitions, the final one will be the newest of all. Wang et al. (2016) propose that “human resource development is a mechanism in shaping individual and group values and beliefs and skilling through learning-related activities to support the desired performance of the host system” (p. 1175). This is the best definition among others because it is the most value-neutral and can be applied to any kind of host system. In addition, this definition presumes the consistency between the organization’s goals and HRD policies by adding the words “the desired performance”. Thus, the HRD that is not integrated with goals will be excluded from the empirical scope of a researcher. The theoretical excellence of Wang et al. definition makes it an ideal type for applying in the conceptualization and operationalization part of a research paper.
Conclusion
To conclude, this paper focused on a comparative analysis of human resource development definitions. As a result, it can be said that many debates between different academicians surround the conceptualization of this phenomenon. It is almost impossible to give an adequate definition of HRD. In any case, almost any definition misses an important element of this process. Broad definitions make their research use irrelevant, as they include virtually any learning within an organization. The essay’s main conclusion is that the definition by Wong et al. comes closest to theoretical perfection. However, definitions based on behavioral change have become forgotten over time, although the inclusion of a psychological factor in research may boost the scholarship.
References
Aybas, M. (2021). The behavioral dimensions of human resources management in the age of digitalization and industry 4.0. In M. Z. Çögenli (Ed.), Digitalization in organizations (pp. 127-144). Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Hamlin, B., & Stewart, J. (2011). What is HRD? A definitional review and synthesis of the HRD domain. Journal of European Industrial Training, 35(3), 199-220.
Swanson, R. A. (1995). Human resource development: Performance is the key. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 6(2), 207-213.
Wang, G. G., Werner, J. M., Sun, J. Y., Gilley, A., & Gilley, J. W. (2017). Means vs ends: theorizing a definition of human resource development. Personnel Review, 46(6), 1165-1181.
Watkins, K. E. (2000). Aims, roles, and structures for human resource development. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 2(3), 54-59.