Learning and Development

Citation

Harrison, R. (2006), "Learning and Development", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 14 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2006.04414dae.001

Learning and Development

A round-up of the best book reviews recently published by Emerald.

Learning and Development

Rosemary HarrisonChartered Institute of Personnel and Development, 2005

The fourth edition of Learning and Development takes a fresh, up-to-date and sometimes challenging look at the increasingly complex world of learning and development.

Rosemary Harrison’s experience as an academic, chief examiner for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and consultant enables her to present a balanced and insightful view of the field, incorporating current issues and future challenges.

The text is divided into four parts, covering 17 chapters, but does not feel to overload the reader. Part 1, “Understanding the field”, sets the scene for learning and development in an organizational context, and highlights the business and educational challenges that have emerged, particularly over the last three years.

Part 2, “Getting to grips with practice”, examines the role of learners and practitioners in relating learning and development to performance, workplace learning and knowledge creation in a way that requires changes to the inputs and perceptions of both parties.

Part 3, “Making a business contribution”, looks at learning and development in the context of business partnerships, strategy and planning, and examines the ways in which learning and development can add value within and outside traditional organizational boundaries.

Part 4, “Building for the future”, concentrates on the contribution that the processes of career planning, leadership and management development can make in building future organizational capacity. The final chapter highlights key issues arising from the text and their impact on learning and development practitioners.

Theory, research and practice are addressed in equal measure. Each chapter has an introduction of purpose and key issues and a conclusion summarizing the main areas covered. Case studies, figures and tables break the text into readable chunks. The glossary of terms at the beginning of the book is useful, as are the further information sources, including websites, books and articles. The reference section is a testament to how up to date this book is.

The text has an obvious strategic flavor and so is of as much interest to those seeking the building blocks of learning and development strategy as to those already involved at strategic level. Overall, the book makes a valuable contribution to the field of learning and development and represents value for money.

Reviewed by Alan Cattell.

A version of this review was originally published in Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 38 No. 1, 2006.