This book explores the perspectives of experienced practitioners, sharing ideas about building and sustaining organizational strength through workforce development practices and systems. As the saying goes, a company's greatest resource is its people. When managers really believe that and work to develop organizational capabilities, productivity,…

Since the 1980s there has been significant growth in the engagement of higher education with workforce development, with among other things the emergence of a distinct if varied area of provision commonly referred to as work-based learning. Recent examination of practice and literature indicates a growing sophistication in the way that work-based…

To develop codes of ethics for their profession, college human resources personnel must first understand their primary job-related responsibilities. These include being alert to evolving organizational needs; coordinating needed training of employees; appreciating the nuances of psychology, communication, and motivation; and observing employee…

This packet contains three papers from a symposium on assessing the learning organization. The first paper, "Relationship between Learning Organization Strategies and Performance Driver Outcomes" (Elwood F. Holton III, Sandra M. Kaiser), reports on a study of a new learning organization assessment instrument that was administered to 440…

Tips to trainers for influencing management to provide employee development programs are presented, with reference to the Fluor Corporation's People Resources Planning Center which the author developed. (MF)

This document contains four papers from a symposium on enhancing workgroup performance in human resource development (HRD). "Formation of Cross-Cultural Global Teams: Making Informed Choices on Team Composition" (Robert L. Dilworth) describes how a mixed class of U.S. and international students identified their cultural and learning…

This packet contains three papers from a symposium on the future of human resource development. The first paper, "Should We Define the Profession of HRD? Views of Leading Scholars" (Wendy E. A. Ruona), explores whether human resource development (HRD) should be defined and why, which was one theme that emerged from a qualitative study of beliefs…

This packet contains three papers on self-directed and incidental learning from a symposium on human resource development (HRD). The first paper, "Self-Directed Learning for Supervisory Development" (Judy O'Neil, Maria Lamattina), reports on a study that looks at what research says needs to be in place to engage workers in self-directed learning…

These four papers were presented at a symposium on human resource development (HRD) and business outcomes moderated by Barbara L. Swanson at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development. "Incorporating Continuous Learning into a Cultural Change Process" (Carol Ann Zulauf, Joseph A. Ilacqua), focuses on best practices at…

This packet contains three papers from a symposium on organizational change. The first paper, "Kaizen Blitz: Rapid Learning to Facilitate Immediate Organizational Improvements" (Robert B. Gudgel, Fred C. Feitler), describes rapid and dramatic improvement in the organizational performance of a manufacturing firm after use of a series of…

A study evaluated the extent to which Employee Development (ED) projects provided increased opportunities for continuing general education and training for employees in Britain. A questionnaire that sought to relate employer involvement in ED to wider issues of workplace culture, personnel, and training policies was sent to 70 firms; 50 percent…

Researchers examined the way selected Australian organizations understand and enact the notion of a learning culture. The diverse approaches that have been used to foster the learning cultures revealed through the case studies confirmed that the concept of a culture of learning was not a homogenous one. The study revealed that embedding a culture…

Employee training and development (T&D) in business and industry, as a critical function of human resource development, must reflect a whole-health, proactive orientation in helping today's organizations survive in an increasingly competitive market. A proactive T&D orientation is based on humanistic views of work and education and is reflected in…

These four papers were presented at a symposium on action learning moderated by Lex Dilworth at the 1996 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development. "Developing an Infrastructure for Individual and Organizational Change: Transfer of Learning from an Action Reflection Learning (ARL) Program" (ARL Inquiry) reports findings…

This document contains three papers from a symposium on human resource development (HRD) and performance outcomes. "Going to the Next Level of Growth: Employing Systems Thinking to Make Effective Interventions" (Carol Ann Zulauf, Joseph A. Ilacqua) shows how a systems view enables organizations to find the most effective point for…