Human resource development: an emerging profession‐an emerging purpose

Abstract

ln this article,we attempt to see Human Resource Development(HRD), and everything that could be called HRD, as it currently exists in U.S. organisations, and to understand its emergence from narrow, fragmented, and mechanical conceptualizations to more holistic ones. It is our view that any intentional organisational activity centered on human development, whether on individual development or on the development of cultures that enable individuals to work together effectively, could legitimately be seen as HRD. This view of HRD, we further believe, enables us to see more fully what is happening and why. Later in this paper, we will offer a definition of the field that is consistent with this comprehensive conceptualization.