The importance of fostering alignment to ensure sustainable nation building

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 718-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grace C. Khoury ◽  
Beverley McNally

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a study exploring the challenges confronting the provision of human resource development (HRD) in large Palestinian organizations. Design/methodology/approach – A mixed methods approach was used to gather the data. The quantitative data were analysed using statistical programme for social sciences. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings – The first challenge pertained to the need for large-scale investment in human capital while at the same time facing serious resource constraints. Additional challenges were; the operational nature of the HR function, the limited training and development expertise and the lack of alignment between educational institutions and employers’ needs. Research limitations/implications – This exploratory study provides recommendations for future explanatory research to contribute to the literature examining national human resource development (NHRD) in high-conflict societies. Practical implications – The findings have implications for both policy makers and the HRD profession. There are also implications for the prioritization of development funding. Social implications – There is an identified need for closer alignment between the country’s education system, the needs of the workplace and the HRD function in organizations. The overarching recommendation is that the HRD function be considered from a NHRD and human capital theory perspectives. Originality/value – This study is the first of its type to be conducted in Palestine. The findings highlight the importance of NHRD to the sustainable nation-building process in Palestine.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Fang ◽  
Panpan Zhang ◽  
Sehoon Kim

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore recent national human resource development (NHRD) practices in China through a literature review focusing on programs and activities that represent the roles and interactions among the government, industry and universities. Design/methodology/approach To effectively consolidate previous work and conceptualize the recent development of the NHRD practices in China, a semi-narrative literature review was used to explore and analyze NHRD-related functions and activities. Findings Findings from the literature review showed that although the central government still plays a predominant role in China, universities and corporations are increasingly playing a critical role in developing an innovative and skilled workforce. At the regional level, NHRD initiatives in China have been increasingly undertaken by universities, industry and government–industry–university collaborations. The authors also found a disparity between developed and underdeveloped regions in terms of NHRD in China. Research limitations/implications This study used the triple helix model as a framework that provides an insightful lens for researchers to examine how various social entities interact with each other and jointly contribute to NHRD. Further case studies are needed to generate evidence-based knowledge to the NHRD literature. Practical implications A more systematic NHRD leadership structure at both the national and local level is desired to unleash the potential of bottom-up development and active government–industry–university collaboration. To counter regional divergence in NHRD in China, intra- and cross-regional collaborations are helpful in improving resources distribution and workforce development. Originality/value Based on open system theory, this study focused on programs and activities that represent the roles and interactions among the government, industry and university in Chinese NHRD through the lens of the triple helix model. In addition, this study offers a conceptual model of Chinese NHRD to help scholars and practitioners understand the transitional efforts in NHRD.


2015 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 666-680 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torrence E Sparkman

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors and conditions that influence national human resource development (NHRD) in Brazil. In this paper, the transitioning nature of the political, economic, social and educational conditions; the current challenges and trends that may impact NHRD; and the current status of NHRD research in Brazil are examined. Design/methodology/approach – A search of the research literature focused on the political, economic, cultural, social and educational environment and the research associated with NHRD in Brazil was conducted. After searching several databases, including Academic Search Complete, Google Scholar, ERIC and EBSCO, several articles were selected and analyzed based on the depth of description of the conditions and research. Findings – Among the factors discovered, race, gender and educational equality are still concerns. The complex nature of the relationship between the Brazilian Government, its people and organizations, as well as the efforts of Brazil’s multinational and indigenous organizations to address their national development needs, are also presented. Originality/value – Brazil is currently and projected to be a long-term player in the global economy; however, it struggles to cope with conditions incongruent to the country’s long-term success. This paper frames the conditions and suggests ways of moving forward through human resource development practice, policy and research in Brazil.


2020 ◽  
Vol 44 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 355-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyungran Roh ◽  
Hyunok Ryu ◽  
Gary N. McLean

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of national human resource development (NHRD) policies led by South Korean central government agencies, identifying what policy decisions have been made and how they were implemented. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data from the 2016 NHRD policy budget plans of the ministries and used content analysis. The unit of analysis was the fourth level, a sub-task, in each ministry’s policy budget plan. All coded policy contents were analyzed in terms of the centralized NHRD model, as well as through the perspective of developmental task theory. Findings The study yielded the following policy and implementation problems. First, the current system of NHRD policies established and implemented by individual ministries risks hampering the validity and effectiveness of the policies. Second, the structure of NHRD policy execution may cause similarity and redundancy across policies, thereby hindering the efficiency of the policies. Third, it is problematic when NHRD policies focus on solving short-term problems to the exclusion of long-term ones. Originality/value This study provides public recommendations to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of NHRD policies created by South Korea’s Central Government. If such an analysis has been made internally by the government, it has not been made publicly available. It also offers practical insights that might help to improve state-led human resource development policies for other countries – especially developing countries – that are planning to introduce central government-led NHRD or to improve existing NHRD policies.


2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 210-214
Author(s):  
Thomas N. Garavan ◽  
Harris Neeliah ◽  
Raj Auckloo ◽  
Raj Ragaven

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore human resource development (HRD) in Mauritius and the challenges and opportunities faced by organisations in different sectors in adopting HRD practices. Findings This special issue presents four papers that explore dimensions of HRD in public sector, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and tourism organisations. It also reports on human capital development in the Mauritian economy generally. Research limitations/implications There is a paucity of knowledge and understanding on HRD in Mauritian organisations. There is significant scope to further explore the effectiveness of national policies and interventions in enhancing HRD and human capital capability. Practical implications The four papers highlight the important role of organisational champions and of the selection and implantation of HRD practices that are good contextual fit and which can contribute to organisation performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Alizadeh ◽  
Deepu Kurian ◽  
Shaoping Qiu ◽  
Khalil M. Dirani

Purpose The purpose of this study is to get the perspectives of human resource development (HRD) scholars about connections among HRD, corporate social responsibility sand ethics. The authors also sought to discover if HRD academic programs need to have ethics-related courses for their graduate students. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, the authors reviewed the literature and interviewed ten HRD scholars who substantially contributed to the field of HRD and have influential publications related to ethics or corporate social responsibility to find out the relationship between HRD, ethics and corporate social responsibility. A semi-structured interview method was adopted to collect data and purposeful sampling technique was used for analyzing data into identified themes. Findings The results from the interviews were categorized into seven different themes. While some scholars argued that ethics-related discussion needs to be integrated within every course, most scholars stated that ethics can be a required standalone course for HRD graduate programs. Originality/value Despite ongoing consideration of the ethical nature of HRD, little research has been conducted on how ethics and corporate social responsibility are represented in the field of study and practice. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first empirical paper in HRD that collected and analyzed experts’ perspectives in this topic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-153
Author(s):  
Adebayo Serge Francois Koukpaki ◽  
Kweku Adams ◽  
Adegboyega Oyedijo

PurposeThis research explores the significant contribution of human resource development (HRD) managers in building organisational brands in the hotel industry through the lenses of dynamic capabilities for sustaining competitiveness.Design/methodology/approachUsing a qualitative case study design, this study deployed a semi-structured interview research method. It used a purposive sample of 20 HRD managers across twenty different hotels in India and South East Asia (ISEA) to explore their contribution to organisational brands. The data was analysed using thematic analysis.FindingsThe findings show the significance of HRD in building organisational brands. From a dynamic capabilities perspective, it was found that HRD has an impact on fostering brand awareness culture; HRD functional branding enhances the creation and sustaining of quality service culture; functional branding of HRD helps differentiate the brand and quality service, for product development and innovation by linking talent development and growth of key competencies and capabilities; brand training and behavioural training directly influence the right behaviour knowledge and effective communication that is translated into the enhancement of guest experience; and finally, organisational branding through branding culture and employer branding creates organisational wealth.Originality/valueThe authors propose a new conceptual framework for the branding of the Heroes to reclaim the HRD's splendour in the realm of other functions in the hotel industry in ISEA contexts. While the authors do not claim an external generalisability, we believe that an analytical application of this framework could be relevant in similar environments. The study also claims that HRD practitioners could use parallel literature repertoires from brand management discourse to value their strategic contributions in building and maintaining their reputational position at the board level. Practical implications and further research are discussed.


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