Routledge Companion to Human Resource Development

Rob F. Poell is Professor of Human Resource Development at Tilburg University, The Netherlands. Rob has published widely in leading HRD, management and organization journals. He served as Editor-in-Chief for Human Resource Development International from 2010-2012 and was a twice-elected member on the Board of Directors of the Academy of Human Resource DevelopmentTonette S. Rocco is Full Professor and Graduate Program Director of Adult Education and Human Resource Development at Florida International University, USA. She is a former board member of the HR Certification Institute and the American Society for Training and Development, and is an award-winning author with over 200 publicationsGene L. Roth is Emeritus Distinguished Teaching Professor of Adult and Higher Education at Northern Illinois University, USA. His research interests include learning to learn, international adult education, workplace learning, and adult learning. He is a past president of the Academy of Human Resource Development

‘WOW! This remarkable volume synthesizes the global and content breadth, offering incredible depth on specific topics, whilst forecasting the future of HRD. It establishes that HRD has become a profession with a legitimate body of knowledge. It will be an invaluable reference for academics and practitioners for years to come.’ - Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, USA‘This excellent book … is a valuable and comprehensive resource for every HR professional, and those in fields that touch and support HRD. Rob Poell, Tonette Rocco, and Gene Roth have sourced and edited a masterful handbook that combines the theoretical and practical. It looks back at the history of the field, delves into current and emerging practices, and asks important questions about the future.’ - Tony Bingham President and CEO, ASTD (from the foreword)‘This text is a significant contribution to contemporary theory and practice in HRD, containing an impressive collection of authoritative treatments from well-established and up-and-coming scholars from 30 countries. I highly recommend it as an invaluable resource for courses on the topic and as an important reference for scholars, public policymakers and practitioners internationally.’ - Philip Taylor, Professor of Human Resource Management, Federation University, Australia‘This book is a great guide on Human Resources Development. It is comprehensive and covers all aspects of HRD across the globe. This text is a valuable addition to the HRD literature and gives a macro, micro and a 360 view of HRD.’ - Prof. T. V. Rao, Chiarman, TVRao Learning Systems Pvt. Ltd., India'This is an outstanding contribution to human resource development. It deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in HRD. The editors set out with an intention to produce a text which makes sense of HRD, not in any definitive or final way, but rather to provide insight into the perspectives which have shaped and are shaping the complex landscape that is HRD' - Dr Rick Holden Editor, IFTDO News

• Part I: Origins of the Field 1.History, Status and Future of HRD Field (Monica Lee) 2.Andragogy (Joseph Kessels) 3.Adult Learning (Knud Illeris) 4.Technical and Vocational Learning (Stephen Billett) 5. Continuing Professional Education, Development and Learning (Barbara J. Daley and Ronald M. Cervero) Part II: Adjacent and Related Fields . Organization Development in the Context of HRD: From Diagnostic to Dialogic Perspectives (Toby Egan) 7. Career Development in the Context of HRD: Challenges and Considerations (Kimberly S. McDonald and Linda M. Hite) 8. Workers and Union HRD: Seeking Employee Voice and Empowerment (Bruce Spencer and Jennifer Kelly) 9. Human Resource Management and HRD: Connecting the Dots, or Ships Passing in the Night? (Jon M. Werner) 10. Performance Improvement: Goals and Means for HRD (Seung Won Yoon, Doo Hun Lim and Pedro A. Willging) Part III: Theoretical Approaches 11. Conceptualizing Critical HRD (CHRD): Tensions, Dilemmas and Possibilities (Tara Fenwick) 12. Social Capital Theory and HRD: Debates, Perspectives and Opportunities (Claire Gubbins and Russell Korte) 13. The Learning-Network Theory: Actors Organize Dynamic HRD Networks (Rob Poell and Ferd J. Van Der Krogt) 14. Systems Theory: Relevance to HRD Theory, Research and Practice (Richard J. Torraco) 15. Human Capital Theory and Screening Theory: Relevance to HRD Research and Practice (Judy Y. Sun and Greg G. Wang) Part IV: Policy Perspectives 16. National Human Resource Development (NHRD) (Gary N. McLean and AAhad M. Osman-Gani) 17. Workforce Development (Joshua D. Hawley) 18. Lifelong Learning as a Life-Large and Life-Deep Reality (Paul Bélanger) 19.Strategic HRD (Jim Stewart) 20. Talent Management and Leadership Development (Paul Iles) Part V: Interventions 21.Change Management (Ann Kohut and Gene L. Roth) 22.Informal Learning in Learning Organizations (Victoria J. Marsick and Karen E. Watkins) 23. Communities of Practice and Value Creation in Networks (Maarten de Laat, Bieke Schreurs and Femke Nijland) 24. Coaching and Mentoring (Andrea D. Ellinger) 25. Structured On-the-Job Training (Ronald L. Jacobs) Part VI: Core Issues and Concerns 26. Work and its Personal, Social and Cross-Cultural Meanings (K. Peter Kuchinke) 27. Organizational Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics (Alexandre Ardichvili) 28. Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives in Organizations (Martin B. Kormanik and Peter Chikwendu Nwaoma) 29. Working Conditions of Child Labour and Migrant Workers (Maimunah Ismail and Nor Wahiza Abdul Wahat) 30. Transfer of Learning (Holly M. Hutchins and Sarah Leberman) Part VII: HRD as a Profession 31. Certification of HRD Professionals (Saul Carliner and Bob Hamlin) 3 2.University Programmes in HRD (Paul Roberts, John Walton and Doo Hun Lim) 33. HRD and the Global Financial Crisis: Regaining Legitimacy and Credibility through People Not Economics (Thomas N. Garavan and Clíodhna A. MacKenzie) Part VIII: HRD around the World 34. National and Organizational Imperatives for HRD in Ghana (Meera Alagaraja and Nana Arthur-Mensah) 35. Vocational Education and Training Policy Issues in South Africa (Andre Kraak) 36. Development of Human Resources in Central and South America (Rod P. Githens, Carlos Albornoz, Librado Enrique Gonzalez, Tonette S. Rocco and Christine Wiggins-Romesburg) 37. HRD in North America (ravor C. Brown, José Ernesto Rangel Delgado and Bronwyn Cass) 38. Emerging Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for HRD in India (Rajashi Ghosh and Arup Barman) 39. HRD in China (Jian Huang, Zhongming Ouyang and Jessica Li) 40. HRD in the Middle East (Mesut Akdere and Khalil Dirani) 41. HRD in Japan and Taiwan (Robert J. Schalkoff and Min-Hsun Christine Kuo) 42. HRD in Australia and New Zealand (Ken Bartlett and Roger Harris) 43. HRD in Hungary and Poland (Maria Cseh, Andrzej Rozanski, Zsolt Nemeskéri and Béla Krisztiá) 44. HRD in the European Union (Alexandra Dehmel and Jasper B. van Loo) Part IX: Emerging Topics and Future Trends 45. Line Managers and HRD (David McGuire and Heather Kissack) 46. Employee Engagement and HRD: Intersections of Theory and Practice (Brad Shuck and Sally Sambrook) 47. New Ways of Working and Employability: Towards an Agenda for HRD (Beatrice Van Der Heijden, Pascale Peters and Clare Kelliher) 48. An International Perspective of the Work-Life System within HRD (Sunny L. Munn and Hae-Young Lee) 49. Emotions and Self-Development (Paul Nesbit) 50. Workplace Incivility as an International Issue: The Role of HRD (Thomas G. Reio, Jr.) 51. Cross-Cultural Training and Its Implications for HRD (Kyoung-Ah Nam, Yonjoo Cho and Mimi Lee) 52. Intercultural Competence and HRD (Katherine Rosenbusch) 53. Virtual HRD (VHRD) (Simone C. O. Conceição and Kristopher J. Thomas) Epilogue: A Synopsis of the Present, Future and Intrigue of HRD (Gene L. Roth, Tonette S. Rocco and Rob F. Poell)Section I: Origins of the FieldChapter 1. The History, Status and Future of HRD (Monica Lee)This chapter provides a brief overview of the history, status and future of HRD. It suggests that the current multi-focus nature of HRD is a result of the disparate roots from which it has sprung. The chapter explores such diversity of interpretation and practice as reinforced by opposing views on the nature of HRD (being or becoming); the focus of HRD (performance or learning), and; the scope of HRD (global or local). The future of HRD is then posited in the light of global changes and shifting boundaries, and the implications for HRD practice and the profession are explored, finishing with the question ‘what future do we want to create?’.Chapter 2. Andragogy (Joseph Kessels)The main focus of andragogy has been: helping adults learn and develop, creating favorable conditions for learning and development in a work environment as well as in their private lives. The development of andragogy has close relationships with adult education and HRD and encountered major debates on its assumptions and scientific foundations. The critical approach of andragogy still offers a meaningful contribution to HRD in an emerging knowledge society.Chapter 3. Adult Learning (Knud Illeris)It is significant that adult learning, as seen in contrast to children's learning, is highly selective, and must be so, because there is always much more learning possibilities than learning capacity. In general adults learn what they want to learn and what is meaningful for them to learn, and they are not inclined to learn something that they are not interested in, or in which they cannot see the meaning or importance. In late modernity this situation has been intensified, because more of the needed learning is of a transformative kind and include changes in the individual identity.Chapter 4. Technical and Vocational Learning (Stephen Billett)This chapter discusses how HRD practitioners might come to understand more about the workplace-based education experiences offered through vocational education programs, participate in them, build workplace capacities to support tertiary education students’ learning, and built and sustain effective relations with tertiary educational institutions. This includes how those practitioners might advance their workplaces’ HRD goals for inducting staff and supporting ongoing development across their employment in those workplaces. In all it advances propositions about the ways HRD practitioners might come to consider these experiences as opportunities for selecting future employees, build capacities in the workplace and utilize the opportunities for engagement with vocational institutions that such experiences provides, whilst being aware of the constraints placed upon these practitioners.Chapter 5. Continuing Professional Education, Development and Learning (Barbara J. Daley and Ronald M. Cervero)Continuing professional education (CPE) and systems of continuing professional development (CPD) are being challenged to change dramatically. Over the last two decades, CPE has moved from a focus on episodic delivery to a planned/sustained delivery, from a focus on the adult learner to a focus on client outcomes, and from education off-site to education on the job. This chapter provides a rationale for a broader conception of CPE, analyzes CPD within social and global contexts, and discusses the movement towards developing systems of lifelong professional development and learning. Section II: Adjacent and Related FieldsChapter 6. Organization Development in the Context of HRD: From Diagnostic to Dialogic Perspectives (Toby Egan)The intersections between organization development (OD) and human resource development (HRD) are explored and elaborated upon. Definitions of OD, the purpose of OD, and key OD outcomes are also described—along with a brief history of OD from the early 1900s thru today. In addition, values- and process-based focus of OD interventions are articulated in the context of applied behavioural science. Key steps in the OD process are explicated along with the relationship between OD and action research. Newer approaches to OD, such as Appreciative Inquiry and Appreciative Action Research are detailed along with a discussion about the future of OD.Chapter 7. Career Development in the Context of HRD: Challenges and Considerations (Kimberly S. McDonald and Linda M. Hite)To better understand the current challenges and considerations influencing career development (CD), this chapter begins with a brief overview of the history of CD. Three challenges facing CD in the 21st century are described: the volatile economic environment; the increasingly diverse workforce; and the contested terrain, or the tension between individuals’ career needs and the goals of organizations.. The chapter concludes with recommendations that address how HRD practice and research might respond to these challenges. Chapter 8. Workers and Union HRD: Seeking Employee Voice and Empowerment (Bruce Spencer and Jennifer Kelly)It could be argued that referring to employees as human resources – another input in the production process – dehumanizes workers and that HRD is essentially about how to improve that input in order to extract additional value from that "resource." This contribution to the handbook looks at HRD from an employee perspective – it opens with a brief outline "understanding unions" followed by a discussion of workers’ and unions’ learning at work, before moving on to a longer exposition of what constitutes labour education. This is followed by an examination of employee development schemes (EDS) and a brief review of employee empowerment in HRD/Learning and EDS. Chapter 9. Human Resource Management and HRD: Connecting the Dots, or Ships Passing in the Night? (Jon M. Werner)This chapter describes the fields of human resource management (HRM) and human resource development (HRD), including brief histories of both areas. Distinctions between the fields are made, and overlap between them is presented. A call is made for a holistic, multidisciplinary approach to address human growth and development in the workplace. A framework from Mankin (2001) is used to depict overlap between organizational strategy and structure, organizational culture, HRM, and HRD. As these topics converge in greater alignment, the need for and centrality of strong HRD principles and practices should increase.Chapter 10. Performance Improvement: Goals and Means for HRD (Seung Won Yoon, Doo Hun Lim and Pedro A. Willging)Performance improvement (PI) is commonly understood as a concept (improving individual, group, or organizational performance), a practical framework (models or processes with steps to follow), and scholarly discipline (the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) is the primary association among PI scholars). We believe that PI offers useful conceptual frameworks and practical tools for Human Resource Development. In this chapter, we clarify relevant terms and review scholarly efforts to identify the core of PI research and then introduce widely practiced PI analysis/process frameworks, adding our insights. We also discuss how trends in technologies will further impact workplace learning and performance.Section III: Theoretical Approaches Chapter11. Conceptualizing Critical Human Resource Development (CHRD): Tensions, Dilemmas and Possibilities (Tara Fenwick)This chapter provides an introduction and overview to critical modes of enquiry and practice in human resource development. Two main principles underpin this diverse scholarship. First, CHRD fundamentally promotes critical analysis of power relations, commonly focused on inequities as well as the issues of gender, diversity and their intersections. Second, CHRD is oriented towards action - towards organizations that are more just, equitable, life-giving and sustainable workplaces. Tensions and dilemmas about what precisely is ‘critical’ and how to engage critical learning are discussed, and approaches to promoting CHRD are presented.Chapter12. Social Capital Theory and Human Resource Development: Debates, Perspectives and Opportunities (Claire Gubbins and Russell Korte)Interdependencies between people and their social groups make social capital a valuable heuristic in HRD. Social capital is defined as the resources afforded by social relations and the structure of those relationships. Social relations are key to understanding individual, collective and societal behaviour. For HRD, a social capital perspective shifts the focus from a narrow perspective on individuals (human capital) to a broader systems view of relations between individuals and collectives (social capital). This chapter describes theories of social capital and social networks. It discusses the possibilities this perspective provides HRD research and practice, with emphasis on learning and performance. Chapter 13. The Learning-Network Theory: Actors Organize Dynamic HRD Networks (Rob F. Poell and Ferd J. Van Der Krogt)There is increasing interest in the complicated issue of how human resource development (HRD) should be organized. The difficulty is due in part to a limited conceptualization of what it means to organize HRD, which has dominated the field and focuses on designing learning structures (e.g. HRD-policy plans). The Learning-Network Theory (LNT), which this chapter summarizes, offers a broader perspective on organizing HRD better capable of analyzing and improving HRD processes. The LNT focuses on the strategies that employees (interacting with other actors) use to organize HRD processes in the context of dynamic networks.Chapter14. Systems Theory: Relevance to HRD Theory, Research and Practice (Richard J. Torraco)This chapter examines systems theory and its relevance to human resource development (HRD) theory, research, and practice. Since systems theory provides a common conception of organizations or any system, it can serve as a conceptual framework or organizer through which the field of HRD can ensure a holistic understanding of its work. The chapter is presented in four parts: research applications of systems theory, systems theory in theoretical research, systems theory as meta-theory, and systems theory and professional practice. Implications for further research and practice related to systems theory and HRD are discussed.Chapter 15. Human Capital Theory and Screening Theory: Relevance to HRD Research and Practice (Judy Y. Sun and Greg G. Wang)Human capital theory (HCT), as one of the well-accepted foundational theories of human resources development, has been employed to explain and predict human resource development phenomena ad practices at individual, organizational/community and national level. Screening theory (TST), as a complementary theory to HCT, has addressed challenges in HCT theory and serves as a powerful alternative in explaining the effect of education in talent selection. This chapter is aimed to review the origins and evolution of, and current states of research on both theories and presents important implications for HRD theory building, research, and practice. Section IV: Policy Perspectives Chapter16. National Human Resource Development (NHRD) (Gary N. McLean and AAhad M. Osman-Gani)For as long as we have had countries, we have had a focus on development: economic, cultural, security, education, and so on. This interest led economists to focus on what it takes to develop countries for maximum return. Beginning in the mid-a960s, this focus has been labeled as national human resource development. There is no common approach for doing this. We explore four countries and their approaches to NHRD: India, People’s Republic of China, Singapore, and the United States. We also explore its evolution, its benefits and challenges, its implementation, and future research.Chapter 17. Workforce Development (Joshua D. Hawley)Workforce development is an area of practice that focuses on helping individuals enter and reenter the workforce, and can be used simultaneously to describe efforts to improve performance in organizations. The term has been used increasingly by human resource development scholars, often serving as an umbrella term. Recently, workforce development practice has focused on the needs of individuals displaced from work or unemployed, and scholarship in the area is concentrated in medical or specialty journals as the term has grown rapidly as a descriptor for human resource programs. Chapter 18. Lifelong Learning as a Life-Large and Life-Deep Reality (Paul Bélanger)In the globalized economy, firms have to continuously improve quality control and productivity, and to do so in a diffused way within their organization. In such context, the meaning and conditions of work are changing. People are called upon to develop their capacity of initiative. This subjective relationship to productive activity leads individuals to seek not only "exchange" but also "use value" in their work. But they cannot enhance their autonomy and performance unless there is recognition of their individual and collective demand for a type of learning that has personal meaning and that builds on both their past experience and personally integrated new knowledge. Hence, to be significant for individuals and productive for organizations work-related lifelong learning needs to become life-large and life-deep.Chapter 19. Strategic Human Resource Development (Jim Stewart)Strategic HRD is often considered a development and form of HRD which contributes to achievement of organization goals. This is commonly conceived as HRD strategies supporting implementation of organization strategies designed and intended to achieve strategic goals. This chapter challenges this view by examining debates and controversies surrounding the meaning and use of the concepts strategic, strategy, strategic HRD and HRD strategies. The examination suggests not only a range of meanings but also confusions in the use of the concepts. While no resolution is provided, the chapter argues potential benefits can arise from strategic HRD, irrespective of ascribed meaning. Chapter 20. Talent Management and Leadership Development (Paul Iles)Talent management (TM) and leadership development (LD) are two inter-related, emerging topics in HRD. This chapter discusses the similarities and differences between the two in a global context in relation to recent research. Before ending with implications for future research, is addresses these similarities and differences in relation to eleven key questions: 1) How are talent and leadership defined? 2) Inclusive or exclusive approach? 3) Performance or potential? 4) Born or made? 5) Person, position or process? 6) Individual or collective? 7) Are TM and LD fashions? 8) Are LD and TM ethical? 9) Are global TM/LD different from domestic TM/LD? 10) How can we develop talent and leadership? and 11) Where next? Section V: InterventionsChapter 21. Change Management (Ann Kohut and Gene L. Roth)The topic of change is so complex that the first order of business is to determine a structure that makes sense for the audience, in this case HRD scholars and practitioners. Toward that end, this chapter begins with an overview of the literature that highlights select models and theories on change management. We then examine prominent issues in the change management literature as well as tensions of change management that are relevant to HRD research and practice. The chapter concludes with implications for HRD practitioners and suggestions for future research. Chapter 22. Informal Learning in Learning Organizations (Victoria J. Marsick and Karen E. Watkins)HRD scholars and practitioners acknowledge that informal learning is central to organization learning. This chapter defines informal learning from multiple perspectives: Dewian, learning network, and socio-cultural. The Marsick-Watkins model of informal learning is described as well as adaptations to the model driven by research. Professional practice and work system studies enrich our understanding of the nature of informal learning. The chapter identifies ways informal learning is being supported and implemented in organizations. The chapter concludes with implications for human resource and organization developers who must weave learning effectively into a learning architecture at individual, workplace, and organizational levels.Chapter 23. Communities of Practice and Value Creation in Networks (Maarten de Laat, Bieke Schreurs and Femke Nijland)The communities of practice theory on learning through participation, apprenticeship and shared practices, has been influential in the appreciation of informal professional development in the past two decades. However, in view of recent organizational developments such as ‘new ways of working’ and social media, the organizational landscape transforms into open practices where professionals work, learn and innovate with their peers beyond organizational boundaries. These emerging open practices require critical reflections about the meaning of CoPs, shifting our ideas to a more dynamic perspective coined as networks of practice. In light of these developments this chapter reflects the challenges that communities face and how they balance dealing with increased openness, networking and demonstrate the value they create. Chapter 24. Coaching and Mentoring (Andrea D. Ellinger)Coaching and mentoring are powerful developmental interventions that have experienced considerable growth in the workplace and they represent important research and practice domains for the field of human resource development. Therefore, this chapter defines and provides an overview of these concepts. It highlights some of the relevant empirical research on coaching, managerial coaching, and mentoring. It also identifies trends, issues, and global perspectives related to these concepts and concludes with recommendations regarding pathways for further researching these interventions.Chapter 25. Structured On-the-Job Training (Ronald L. Jacobs)This chapter reviews structured on-the-job training (S-OJT), a training approach used in many organizations. Research shows that much learning occurs on the job, but it tends to be unplanned, or unstructured. S-OJT was first introduced in the 1980s and is defined as the planned process of having an experienced employee train a novice employee on specific units of work in the actual work setting or a setting that closely resembles the work setting. The definition affirms the desirability of having individuals learn in the same location in which they will be expected to perform their work later on. Section VI: Core Issues and Concerns Chapter 26. Work and its Personal, Social and Cross-Cultural Meanings (K. Peter Kuchinke)Human Resource Development is centrally focused on work: on learning, training, development for work, at work, through work, and about work. Work is the constant that links together the various dimensions and application areas for HRD, ranging from individual to global. This chapter provides workforce and human resource scholars and practitioners with three perspectives on work: Its individual meaning driven by personal expectations and needs, its role as a social institution undergoing massive changes, and the diversity of societal norms about work based on cross-cultural differences. Chapter 27. Organizational Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and Business Ethics (Alexandre Ardichvili)The goal of this chapter is to illuminate the role of HRD in enabling Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Organizational sustainability (OS), and ethics in business organizations. Specifically, this chapter discusses: The importance of CSR, sustainability and business ethics in today’s business organizations; definitions of key terms; the role of HRD in imbedding OS, CSR, and ethics in organizational practices and cultures; learning and development approaches, used to foster CSR, OS, and ethics in organizations; and critical views of HRD’s role and practices. Chapter 28. Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives in Organizations (Martin B. Kormanik and Peter Chikwendu Nwaoma)This chapter situates the concept of diversity and inclusion in social and organizational contexts. It highlights the literature on the historical foundations of diversity management, along with best practices for initiatives for maximizing the advantages diversity brings to organizations. Modern organizations are more conscious in managing workforce diversity to enhance productivity. The narrative includes the nature and meaning of diversity as a social construct, its effects in the organizational setting, nascent efforts to manage workforce diversity in the workplace, expansion to the global context, initiatives in contemporary organizations, human resource practitioner roles in these initiatives, and considerations for practitioners’ professional development.Chapter 29. Working Conditions of Child Labour and Migrant Workers (Maimunah Ismail and Nor Wahiza Abdul Wahat)The occurrence of child labour and migrant workers in many countries is almost unstoppable. This chapter specifically defines the meaning of working conditions, and explores the global perspectives of working conditions across of child labour and migrant workers in selected countries. The analysis found that child labour issues are almost absent from most developed countries but they increase in countries with low Human Development Index (HDI). The opposite is observed for migrant workers. An important HRD implication is that MNCs should comply with the principles of responsible business in providing appropriate working conditions for workers within the entire supply chain. Chapter 30. Transfer of Learning (Holly M. Hutchins and Sarah Leberman)Transfer of learning has received notable attention by scholars and practitioners through meta-analyses, integrative reviews, and assessment methods. In this chapter, we provide a review of the transfer literature, with specific attention to evidence-supported transfer factors and interventions representative of international scholarly and practitioner perspectives. To demonstrate practical application of evidence-based approaches, we highlight the application of transfer approaches in short vignettes from a US and UK organization recognized for their strategic support of employees’ of learning transfer. In our final section, we synthesize major findings, trends and offer implications for continuing research and practices in transfer of learning.Section VII: HRD as a ProfessionChapter 31. Certification of HRD Professionals (Saul Carliner and Bob Hamlin)This chapter explores certification as a qualification for HRD-related jobs. Certification is a transferrable credential that validates professional competence by a third party. It is typically based on externally defined bodies of knowledge or competency models; require minimum levels of experience and education; involve a test, skill demonstration, or portfolio review; and require certified professionals to adhere to a code of ethics and maintain their skills. Several types of HRD-related certifications exist in training, coaching, organizational development and HR (including HRM). Certifications focus on "process skills," not industries or subject areas. Competition among the many certifications might prevent any from gaining the level of recognition needed to achieve wide credibility. Certifications also have implications for academic programs. Chapter 32. University Programmes in Human Resource Development (Paul Roberts, John Walton and Doo Hun Lim)In this chapter, we explore the history and foundation of university programmes in HRD, not only to provide insight into our past, but also to lend guidance into where they are headed. HRD programmes have taken on many different appearances largely stemming from the focus or points of origin, but also the passions and expertise of the faculty within the various universities. Programmes are examined from the perspective of the United States, Europe, and Asia in general with specific focus on Korea.Chapter 33. Human Resource Development and the Global Financial Crisis: Regaining Legitimacy and Credibility through People Not Economics (Thomas N. Garavan and Clíodhna A. MacKenzie)In this chapter, we discuss the challenges for HRD post the global financial crisis. We utilize a number of theoretical perspectives to explain how what drove organizational practices including HRD during the economic boom and analyze the challenges that HRD now faces to regain its legitimacy. We discuss where HRD currently stands as a profession and field of research and discuss the research and practice agenda that will help it move forward. Section VIII: HRD around the WorldChapter 34. National and Organizational Imperatives for Human Resource Development in Ghana (Meera Alagaraja and Nana Arthur-Mensah)Over the years, Ghana’s focus on workforce training and development, macro-economic policies and education shaped national HRD (NHRD) imperatives. These imperatives addressed the challenges of globalization and placed economic development at the centre of NHRD efforts. NHRD imperatives also set the context for HRD and enhanced the value of developing human resources. At the organizational level, HRD imperatives call for inclusion, access to professional development opportunities, and fostering positive work environments for all employees. The chapter examines national and organizational imperatives for HRD and emphasizes the need for integrating traditional Ghanaian socio-cultural values with western management practices and leadership styles. Chapter 35. Vocational Education and Training Policy