New Frontiers in HRD (Routledge Studies in Human Resource Development)

Factors such as globalisation, restructuring, casualization of employment and the erosion of pension rights have led to massive tensions in contemporary organizations. By exploring the boundaries of the field of Human Resource Development this book asks where is HRD in the middle of all this and presents an innovative and challenging approach to HRD theory and practice. With contributions from a number of leading international scholars, the chapters draw upon a range of epistemologies and adopt a critically reflective perspective on the field. The chapters are divided into four sections moving from a critical perspective on the definition and boundaries of the field of HRD, through a re-thinking of the human-centred nature of HRD, and the organisational context within which HRD takes place, to, finally, perspectives on the future role of HRD in the changing knowledge economy. The book's main conclusion is that HRD remains a contested concept within the more broadly contested field of organisation and management theory. Yet this is neither a drawback nor weakness on the one hand, nor an advantage or strength on the other. Both threats and opportunities present themselves for the future growth of HRD as an academic field, and as an arena of professional practice

Jean Woodall is Associate Dean and Professor of HRD at Kingston Business School. She is also the current Editor in Chief of Human Resource Development International. Monica Lee is Visiting Professor at Northumbria University, and is based at Lancaster University. She is the Editor of the monograph series Routledge Studies in Human Resource Development, and is Executive Secretary for the University Forum for HRD. Jim Stewart is Professor of HRD at Nottingham Business School, Chair of the University Forum for Human Resource Development and co-editor of three other books in this series.