Postmodern organizations are driven by a new set of expectations. Organizational development increasingly involves interventions based on human resource development and learning organizations. Line managers are expected to be change agents who are aware of the external environment and know how to realign internal characteristics to adjust to…

Describes four Milwaukee adult literacy programs that have responded to welfare reform. Explores challenges for community-based organizations: teaching for learning vs. training for work, coordinating education and support services, and securing resources. (SK)

Discusses the Michigan Technical Education Center (M-TEC) at Bay de Noc Community College (Michigan), which was created to alleviate a local skilled worker shortage. Employers have responded well to the M-TEC program, which offers customized, technical training at times convenient to students. An 89% increase in number of workers trained was seen…

Questionnaires were completed by 37 participants in a South African life skills program before, directly after, and 3 months after completion. Factor analysis revealed a shift in empowerment as participants moved from micro-level focus on self to macro-level focus on external issues. Growth in critical thinking, confidence, and control also…

This paper discusses the present scenario of automation activities of university libraries in Kerala. The survey findings mainly cover various aspects of library automation such as information technology infrastructure, in-house activities, information services and their usage, manpower development, and budget. The paper briefly describes the role…

This article addresses the tension between the need to prepare students for functional activity in organizations on the one hand, and the need to instill dispositions and competencies that transcend these determinate roles on the other. I take for granted that schools must fulfill both tasks, and I suggest that they are failing at the latter in…

Building on Gray's (1997) observation of a common ground between vocational education and human resource development, the present paper seeks to extend the comparative analysis by contrasting each field in terms of its history and definition, professional standards, scope of interventions, and core bodies of knowledge. The analysis suggests that…

The 2004 State of the Union address included an announcement that $250 million was being allocated to community colleges for workforce development programs. This indication of support was good news in light of the recent trends for level funding or cutting back on educational programs, and demonstrates the perceived benefits of workforce…

A solid global strategy must be part of every organization's DNA. For Dell, this means expanding into new countries where it can use its direct model to provide value to customers and create more productive, healthier communities. It also means hiring employees who think and act globally and have a commitment to learn how to work with cultures…

Human resource development (HRD) is a concept associated with human resource management, and, by this association, one component of the broader concept of management. Much work has examined management practices from a critical stance and this article provides a brief review. However, HRD is a more recent concept, still emerging and finding space…

Purpose: To explore the strategic role of human resource management (HRM) in Turkey by comparing Turkish companies to Spanish and German companies. Design/methodology/approach: The questionnaire form of the Cranet-G 1999-2000 Survey (Cranfield Network on Strategic International Human Resource Management) has been used to collect the data. The…

In the course of the author's doctoral study, he is exploring the strategic linkages between learning activities in the modern workplace and the long-term success they bring to organisations. For many years, this challenge has been the Holy Grail of human resource (HR) development practitioners, who invest heavily on training and professional…

In a global society and economy, education and training is essential to a nation's competitiveness and to the standard of living of its people. The need to open the doors of higher or further education beyond the relatively limited enrollments in elite and selective universities has spawned a movement to develop or expand institutions that are…

This report focuses on the 15 states of the West (Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming), their ability to educate minorities, and the resulting impact on their workforces and economies. The foundation of the Western U.S. economy rests on…

Workforce projections worldwide show a growing need for people with strong backgrounds in math and science. As the eighth largest economy in the world, California benefits particularly from enterprises in the "STEM" fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). How well California's current public school students are…