HRD Curriculum Meets Global Human Capital Challenge

Abstract

The Problem. Human resource development (HRD) academic programs have grown and evolved over the last 25 plus years in a dynamic, global economy; yet, many HRD academic programs still grapple to define their role and purpose. Without the ability to clearly articulate the potential contributions undergraduate and graduate HRD programs offer the HRD profession, our universities, and global economy, we weaken our capacity to advance the field of HRD. Each year since 1999, The Conference Board, a global research association, has asked CEOs, presidents, and chair people across the globe to identify their most critical challenges. In the CEO Challenge 2015 and 2016 Reports, human capital was ranked as the number one global challenge. As the top challenge, CEOs view human capital in all its forms-from dynamic leadership to a skilled workforce cadre-as the primary fuel that will drive the engines of growth within their organizations. Undergraduate HRD programs are uniquely positioned to academically prepare entry-level professionals with the research-based knowledge, skills, and abilities required to develop the people needed for today's organizations; yet universities struggle to find appropriate patterns and themes for their curriculum. The Solution. This article provides a framework, an underlying structure, for undergraduate HRD academic programs mapped to strategies deployed globally by CEOs to meet their number one challenge of human capital-to build sustainable organizations and economies. Implications for developing undergraduate HRD curricula are included. The Stakeholders. HRD scholars, practitioners, and higher education administrators interested in the academic preparation of entry-level HRD professionals.

Reshaping HRD in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Ethics of Care Approach

“…The tension between “developing humans” and “developing resources” has long existed at the heart of Human Resource Development. Advocates for a human capital approach to developing employees have long espoused the view that investment in employee competencies is required to meet an organization’s strategic goals (Gaudet et al, 2017; Hooi, 2019; Sheehan & Shanahan, 2017). Such approaches identify value in leveraging human assets to enhance productivity and performance, thus increasing competitiveness and sustainability (Mitsakis & Aravopoulou, 2016).…”

Research to Advance Undergraduate HRD Education: “Please Sir, I Want Some More”

“…It would be interesting to determine what role (if any) HRD professionals have in the strategies that were identified by Gaudet et al (2017) as non-HCD. It would seem that if colleges and universities are to prepare undergraduate HRD students to eventually accept invitations to the C-suite (cf.…”

“…Gaudet, Brown, and Lunsford (2017) provided a “framework for undergraduate HRD academic programs mapped to strategies deployed globally by CEOs” (p. 124). As a source for their framework, they reviewed the 2015 and 2016 CEO Challenge reports published by The Conference Board (e.g., Mitchell, Ray, & van Ark, 2015, 2016).…”

“…Another avenue of research building on Gaudet et al (2017) would be to determine whether the challenges that CEOs face or the strategies that HRD professionals need to employ differ by size of the organization. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (Caruso, 2015), almost half of all employees in 2012 (the most current year available) worked in enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.…”

“…CEO Challenge Strategies Identified byGaudet, Brown, and Lunsford (2017) as Non-HCD.Innovation/digitalizationEngage in strategies alliances with customers, supplies, and/or other business partners…”