Recently, human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners have reported the usefulness and effectiveness of an HRD framework to address emerging problems and issues to bring about meaningful and lasting change for the public good at multiple levels. However, basic expectations inherent in traditional HRD theory and practice that pursue organizational interests often do not fit numerous projects and programs designed for community development, nation building, or international development.
The Solution.
To understand the use of HRD for the purpose of societal development (SD), this article presents typical contextual characteristics of HRD in a community, a nation, and the world, along with the key change agents, such as governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and international agencies.
The Stakeholders.
This article is addressed to the many HRD practitioners who work for SD without broader scope of theoretical background by providing principles, concepts, and methods that are currently used or have potential for advancing the practice.
BaatjesI.MatheK. (2004). Adult basic education and social change in South Africa, 1994-2003. In ChisholmL. (Ed.), Changing class: Education and social change in post-apartheid South Africa (pp. 393-420). Cape Town, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.
2.
BansalP. (2002). The corporate challenges of sustainable development. Academy of Management Executive, 16(2), 122-131.
3.
BieremaL. L. (1997). Development of the individual leads to more productive workplaces. In RowdenR. (Ed.), New directions for adult and continuing development—Workplace learning: Debating the five critical questions of theory and practice (pp. 21-28). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
4.
BieremaL. L.D’AbundoM. L. (2004). HRD with a conscience: Practicing socially responsible HRD. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 23, 443-458.
5.
BrianP. (2008). Common errors in English usage (2nd ed.). Sherwood, OR: William James & Co.
6.
BudhwaniN. (2004). Should child labor be eliminated? An HRD perspective. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 15(1), 107-116.
7.
BudhwaniN. (2006). Human resource development in the Ismaili community of Minnesota (Doctoral dissertation). University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
8.
ChoE.McLeanG. M. (2004). National human resource development: What we discovered about NHRD and what it means for HRD. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 6, 382-393.
9.
ColbertB. A.KuruczE. C. (2007). Three conceptions of triple bottom line business sustainability and the role of HRM. Human Resource Planning, 30(1), 21-29.
10.
CookJ.StaniforthD.StewartJ. (1997). The learning organization in the public services. Aldershot, UK: Gower.
11.
CorneliusN.TodresM.Janjuha-JivrajS.WoodsA.WallaceJ. (2008). Corporate social responsibility and the social enterprise. Journal of Business Ethics, 81, 355-370.
12.
DerryS. J.FischerG. (2005, April). Toward a model and theory for transdisciplinary graduate education. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Symposium on Sociotechnical Design for Lifelong Learning: A Crucial Role for Graduate Education, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Retrieved from http://l3d.cs.colorado.edu/~gerhard/papers/aera-montreal.pdf
13.
EdwardsM. (1997). Organizational learning in nongovernmental organizations: What have we learned?Public Administration and Development, 17, 235-250.
14.
EscobarA. (1995) Encountering development: The making and unmaking of the third world. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
15.
FenwickT.BieremaL. (2008). Corporate social responsibility: Issues and human resource development professionals. International Journal of Training and Development, 12(1), 24-35.
16.
FrankC.YeagerK. (2011, February). Getting into shape: Strengthening the academic foundations of HRD graduate programs for an uncertain global economy. Paper presented at the International Conference on Human Resource Development, Chicago, IL.
17.
GaravanT. N.McGuireD. (2010). Human resource development and society: Human resource development’s role in embedding corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and ethics in organizations. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 12, 487-507.
18.
HatcherT. (2002). Ethics and HRD: A new approach to leading responsible organizations. Cambridge, MA: Basic Books.
19.
HatcherT. (2003). World views that inhibit HRD’s social responsibility. In LeeM. (Ed.), HRD in a complex world (pp. 42-56). London, UK: Routledge.
20.
JhaA. K.KumarA. (2000). Opportunities of NGOs in plateau region of Bihar: A case study of Vikas Bharti. In PrasadK.MadaanD. K. (Eds.), NGOs and socio-economic development opportunities (pp. 221-227). New Delhi, India: Deep and Deep.
21.
JohnsonM. H.BartlettK. R.CunninghamP.LynhamS. A.der MarwitzJ. V. (2010). A necessary dialogue: A South African case study exploring the role of national HRD in HIV/ADIS non-government organizations. Human Resource Development International, 13(2), 165-183.
22.
KuchinkeP. (2010). Human development as a central goal for human resource development. Human Resource Development International, 13, 575-585.
23.
KuoM. C.YamnillS.McLeanG. N. (2008). The dilemma of prostitution in Taiwan and Thailand from an NHRD perspective. Human Resource Development International, 11, 493-505.
24.
LeeM. (2001). A refusal to define HRD. Human Resource Development International, 4, 327-343.
25.
LeeM. (2007). HRD from a holistic perspective. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 9(1), 97-110.
26.
LewisD. (2001). The management of NGOs. London, UK: Routledge.
27.
LynhamS. A.CunninghamP. W. (2006). National human resource development in transitioning societies in the developing world: Concepts and challenges. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 8(1), 116-135.
28.
LynhamS. A.PaprockK. E.CunninghamP. W. (Eds.). (2006). National human resource development in transitioning societies in the developing world. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 8(1).
29.
McLaganP. (1989). Models for HRD practice. Alexandria, VA: American Society for Training & Development.
30.
McLeanG. N. (2006). National human resource development: A focused study in transitioning societies in the developing world. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 8(1), 3-11.
31.
McLeanG. N.LynhamS. A.AzevedoR. E.LawrenceJ. E. S.NafukhoF. (2008). A response to Wang and Swanson’s (2008) article on national HRD and theory development. Human Resource Development Review, 7, 241-258.
32.
McLeanG. N.McLeanL. D. (2001). If we can’t define HRD in one country, how can we define it in an international context?Human Resource Development International, 4, 313-326.
33.
McLeanG. N.Osman-GaniA. M.ChoE. S. (Eds.). (2004). National human resource development. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 6(3).
34.
McWilliamsA.SiegelD. (2001). Corporate social responsibility: A theory of the firm perspective. Academy of Management Review, 26(1), 117-127.
35.
MeehanJ.MeehanK.RichardsA. (2006). Corporate social responsibility: The 3C-SR model. International Journal of Social Economics, 33, 386-398.
36.
MetcalfeB. D.ReesC. J. (2005). Theorizing advances in international human resource development. Human Resource Development International, 8, 449-465.
37.
PavlishC. (2002). Knowledge and care at the center of human resource development. In PareekU.Osman-GaniA. M.RaoT. V. (Eds.), Human resource development in Asia: Trends and challenges (pp. 227-35). New Delhi, India: Oxford and IBH.
38.
PrefferJ. (2010). Building sustainable organizations: The human factor. Academy of Management Perspectives, 23, 34.
39.
PreussL.HaunschildA.MattenD. (2009). The rise of CSR: Implications for HRM and employee representation. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19, 954-972.
40.
RamirezR. (1990). The application of adult education to community development. Community Development Journal, 25(2), 131-138.
41.
RazviM.RothG. (2010). Non-governmental organizations and the socio-economic development of low-income women in India. Human Resource Development International, 13, 65-81.
42.
RedingtonI. (2005). Making CSR happen: The contribution of people management. London, UK: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
43.
SchulerR.JacksonS. (2006). Strategic influences on sustainability practices in the Canadian forest products industry. Strategic Management Journal, 26, 159-180.
44.
VirakulB.KoonmeeK.McLeanG. N. (2009). CSR activities in award-winning Thai companies. Social Responsibility Journal, 5(2), 178-199.
45.
VirakulB.McLeanG. N. (2010). Revisiting AIDS in the workplace and HR work in Thai business organizations. Journal of Global Responsibility, 1, 293-315.
46.
YamnillS.McLeanG. N. (2010). Knowledge in a community setting using action research: A case study of Lumpaya community, Nakorn Pathorn Province, Thailand. Human Resource Development International, 13, 541-556.
47.
YamnillS.McLeanG. N.SingsuriyaP. (2008). The role of a religious institution in HRD: The case of Wat (temple) Panyanantaram, Thailand. Human Resource Development International, 11, 223-235.
48.
YinR. K. (2008). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
49.
ZidanS. S. (2001). The role of HRD in economic development. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 12, 437-443.
