Through this article, we assert that given the individual-oriented literature on identity, and the fact that workplaces are increasingly becoming globalized, collective identities might struggle and run up against dominant, individualistic forms of identity-formation. This struggle may have serious implications for workplace practices, including…

While research is emerging around the employee engagement construct, evolution is in early stages of development. Presently, some questions remain about how employee engagement differs from other well-researched and documented constructs such as job satisfaction, job involvement, and job commitment. Although such inquiry is seemingly academic in…

Social capital has been receiving increasing attention in the field of human resource development (HRD). However, little is known as to how social capital has been formed or has grown over time with HRD interventions. There is limited research and discussion on how reflective practices play a role in the development of social capital as…

Teams have become a key resource for learning and accomplishing work in organizations. The development of collective learning in specific contexts is not well understood, yet has become critical to organizational success. The purpose of this conceptual review is to inform human resource development (HRD) practice about specific team behaviors and…

Issues related to human resource development (HRD) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people such as workplace inclusion, employee affinity groups, and LGBT-specific diversity initiatives are being addressed in organizations more often now than ever before. This article explores the existing literature on LGBT issues in HRD and…

This article presents and explores a framework of self-directed leadership development (SDLD) to advance conceptual understanding and practical applications for self-development approaches to development of leaders in organizations. Drawing on a diversified literature associated with experiential learning, emotion research, and social cognitive…

As the use of workplace knowledge economies increases and emerging motivational-state variables such as employee engagement become more widely used, current frameworks of leadership are undergoing changes in perspective and practice. Moreover, while shifts in workplace dynamics have occurred in practice for some time, scholars are now calling for…

The purpose of this integrative literature review is to summarize research on concept mapping and to offer ideas on how concept mapping can facilitate practice, research, and theory development within human resource development. In this review, more than 300 articles, written in both English and Spanish, presented at two different concept mapping…

This literature review will examine international assignments as career development opportunities and uncover multiple issues and considerations with respect to lesbians and international assignments. There is a clear interest in the fields of management and human resource management in the privileges, challenges, and opportunities of…

In an era of increasing global competition, it is argued that knowledge and skills are the key sources of competitive advantage. This places the human resource development (HRD) function in a situation of increased status and power, if HRD professionals adopt roles in a way that adds "value" and facilitates achievement of competitive advantage.…

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…

Over recent years, approaches to education and training have become more informal, situated, outcome focused and experiential. Within this context, formal learning now plays a greatly diminished role, being supplanted by activity-based and technologically-based learning. This article, structured in the form of a polemic challenges readers to…

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. Scholars have pondered the causes of failed training for decades, focusing on issues such as methods, program design, and trainee characteristics. Recent…

The rising popularity of research partnerships between practitioners and scholars raises questions about the efficacy of current research models for in situ research that yield timely and practical results to practitioners at the same time as they meet scholarly requirements and continue to grow the knowledge base in the field of HRD. Three…

Training programs purporting to develop emotional intelligence (EI) are widely available, yet to date few empirical studies have appeared in the literature providing support that training results in demonstrable changes to EI, and more significantly whether these changes can then be traced to more positive individual or organizational outcomes.…