Monica Lee

The field of Human Resource Development has developed largely through academics, scholars and reflective practitioners from across the world coming together. Many people link memorable keynote speeches to changes in their research, practice, career path or even life view. Good keynote speeches are a forthright statement of the expert’s view and thus are often not published. Now that HRD is maturing there is a need to recapture some of those earlier moments – both as a form of archive, and also to shed light on the path that has been followed. Twenty-two speeches seminal to the field of HRD are included in this volume. These speeches are milestones along the path of the development of the field; as well as reconstructing their speech, the contributors have also located it within the time it was given and commented on how the field has developed since. This book is a resource, not only as an archive and for those who wish to relive their pivotal moments, but also for anyone interested in the development of HRD as a discipline. This unique approach provides an exciting and engaging way to reflect on cutting edge issues in the academic and practitioner world of HRD!

Speeches that Have Shaped the Field

Human Resource Development as We Know It

The nature of human resource development (HRD) has been, and remains, a contested topic – the debate was sparked in part by Monica Lee’s seminal 2001 paper which refused to define the discipline of HRD, but has been accentuated by increasing globalization, political unrest, inequality and the erosion of boundaries. Should HRD now be seen as more than ‘training,’ or a sub-function of large western bureaucracy? This book represents a very wide view of HRD: that it is at the core of our ‘selves’ and our relationships, and that we continually co-create ourselves, our organisations and societies. These ideas are hung upon a model of Holistic Agency, and supported from sources as diverse as evolutionary psychology, science fiction, the challenges of transitional economies, and the structural uncertainties of contemporary society. Examining the tensions between self and other, agency and structure, the book draws inspiration from an almost-autoethnographic approach. This yields a text that is personal, entertaining, and easier to read than many academic tomes – yet considers the depth and development of the human condition, and locates HRD within that.

Holistic Agency and an Almost-Autoethnographical Exploration of Becoming

On the Nature of Human Resource Development

Human Resource Development in a Complex World presents a strong challenge to traditional Human Resource Development. Internationally renowned authors address HRD from within the notions and language of complexity, presenting multifaceted alternative perspectives to the current practice and theory of HRD.

HRD in a Complex World

Jim Stewart

Jean Woodall

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

New Frontiers in HRD

Laura Wallgren (1915-2019) was a farmer's wife, a devoted Christian and a talented quilter. Living a simple life among the rolling hills of New York Mills, Minnesota, Grandma Laura was plain speaking, spunky and a little bit vain. She also was one of those rare Americans who lived to 104. Can you imagine? Even she couldn't imagine. The centenarian said more than once she didn't know why she had lived so long. But the answer may be found among her twenty-five years of diary entries documenting family, good food, the weather and gratitude for all of it. Revealing a retirement story that unfolds in a small town in the mid-1980s to 2009, Wallgren's journals feel like an anthropological study of a Central Minnesota widow. The diaries are a quilt of sorts, detailing the dash between the years of birth and death. From the threads, Wallgren's granddaughter Monica Lee coaxes stories of her grandmother's appreciation for fresh fruits and vegetables, an accident in which Wallgren breaks her neck at age 84, and a touching account of a daughter-in-law's battle with cancer. Each day is its own unique block, yet knitted together, patterns emerge, colors coordinate and a beautiful tapestry of family love and personal perseverance emerges.A charming tale of family ties, over-the-top gardening and persisting despite the brutal Minnesota winters and the volume of grief only a 104-year-old experiences, this heartfelt portrait of a Midwestern centenarian who carries on with grit and humor is like a Wallgren family recipe for fresh strawberry pie (recipe not included).

Monica Lee

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