Many human resource managers face a dilemma. They would like to spend more time improving the overall work environment for employees. They want to help their executives save on workforce-related expenses, find and hire better talent, and improve existing talent through training and development. Unfortunately, most days, HR managers are stuck doing…

This study explores opportunity costs of postsecondary education in the U.S. in the past three decades. Based on human capital theory, data from the U.S. Census, along with parameters for high education achievement (involving bachelors and advanced degrees), were fed into a forecasting model developed for this purpose. Beyond descriptive…

Discusses how to use benchmarking as both a quantitative and qualitative tool when reviewing management development in light of changing business strategy and organizational design. Highlights include cost effectiveness, a benchmarking framework, and the impact on human resource development (HRD) functions. (Author/LRW)

Purpose: The objective of the pilot study reported on here was to identify some of the more elusive "costs and benefits" of work-based learning (WBL) placements. This was addressed by exploring the views and experience of a small number of human resource development (HRD) professionals who currently offer supervised work-based learning placements…

Without attempting to be comprehensive, this bibliography lists over 150 government documents, private publications, and journal articles on manpower and human resources, selected as representative works in the interdisciplinary field of human resources. Areas covered include: (1) general works, (2) investment in human capital, (3)…

Proves that the same single-period structure in relationships among schooling, experience, and earnings can have sharply contrasting meanings for life cycle patterns. Returns on investment in human resources, productivity, and higher education depend on the static or dynamic nature of society, not on the society's wealth or poverty. Includes three…

Discusses benefit-cost analysis, describes two applications of benefit-cost analysis to human resources programs, evaluates difficulties in applying benefit-cost analysis to human resources programs, examines the effect of benefit-cost analysis on human resources programs and on public policy decisions. Also discusses applying benefit-cost…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on core directions in human resource development (HRD). In "Expertise: The Development of an Operational Definition for Human Resource Development" (Richard W. Herling), expertise is defined as consistent demonstrated actions that are efficient in their execution and effective in their…

Online instruction gains an increasing presence due to associated benefits, including the ability to disregard geographical and time constraints, and the belief that online training is more cost efficient. This paper provides a discussion of issues to be faced by HRD professionals who intend to move the training environment online in response to…

Three presentations are provided from Symposium 13, Knowledge and Intellectual Capital, of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD) 2000 Conference proceedings. "Human Capital Measurement" (Joanne Provo) begins with a literature review that provides a context for understanding how investments in human capital add value to the…

When educators, trainers, and human resource development (HRD) practitioners are asked to produce evidence that supports the productivity of the training enterprise, they are often frustrated by the lack of simple and effective methods for assessment. While administrators in an organization are likely to know exactly how much training costs, they…

These five papers are from a symposium facilitated by Ronald L. Jacobs on financial analysis of human resource development (HRD) at the 1995 Academy of Human Resource Development conference. "Return on Investment--Beyond the Four Levels!" (Jack J. Phillips) offers a modification of the Kirkpatrick model of evaluation for HRD in…

Distance education is the only prospect of bringing further educational opportunities within the grasp of most adults in Guyana. Some factors that make distance education desirable, such as the infrastructure and present economic problems, militate against its provision. Many of the best educated personnel in all sectors have emigrated; the loss…

The geo-demographic, economic, and infrastructural makeup of 12 African countries (Botswana. Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) were compared to determine the potential benefits to them of a Commonwealth of Learning (COL) distance education initiative. Data were collected on…

This document contains four papers from a symposium on cost analysis, evaluation, and feedback in human resource development. "Training Evaluation with 360-Degree Feedback" (Froukje A. Jellema) reports on a quasi-experimental study that examined the effectiveness of 360-degree feedback in evaluating the training received by nurses in a…