Human Resource Development – 3rd edition

Citation

Holyoak, L. (2006), "Human Resource Development – 3rd edition", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 27 No. 3, pp. 238-239. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437730610657767

Human Resource Development forms part of the MBA Masterclass series edited by Philip Sadler. This is the third edition of this book and the authors claim that much has been changed: elements have been re‐written and the material has been reorganised. I cannot vouch for this as I am not familiar with the previous editions, but taking the package as it is presented here, I can say that this an interesting and well‐organised book.

The book begins with an examination of HRD as a concept and how it links with organisational strategy and the national and international context. One chapter is then dedicated to looking at the current leading ideas in HRD. The authors go beyond their own perspective, reporting ideas generated by a number of people and groups in different contexts. The ideas generated form the basis for much of the book's content. After looking at how HRD links to various aspects of HRM, the book spends one chapter discussing learning and another looking at the specific issues of e‐learning and blended learning. These lead nicely into a chapter on Continuous professional development, which manages to convey the principles of CPD as well as encouraging the reader to reflect on their own CPD. The focus shifts to look at teams and groups and the influence these have on development and change, and then shifts again to look at organisational learning. The last part of the book looks at specific issues such as diagnosis and evaluation in HRD, the development of managers (including specific types of managers) and leveraging the HRD function. The book closes with a short chapter looking forward to what might be the leading ideas of the future.

Human resource development is a book which has a number of very good features. Each chapter has a set of learning outcomes which, along with the introduction, enable the reader to grasp quickly what the chapter will deal with. There are lots of activities to help the reader think about the situation in their own organisation, or to analyse their own experience. Case studies can be found in all the main chapters and examine good practice in a range of companies. A couple of things stood out as having potential for improvement. The first is the use of an extended exemplar followed by a separate section telling us that the innovator had moved on from that company; a little later in the chapter the authors return to talking about him as if he is still there. Small changes in how this later element is phrased should sort the problem out. I was amused by the way some of the section headings take up nearly as much space as the material they introduce, but that is hardly a major problem.

Overall the quibbles I have with the book are minor compared with the many excellent features. If you are not already familiar with this book (and even if you are, remember that it has changed somewhat from the last edition) then it can be recommended as a thoroughly worthwhile read.