The field of HRD or Human Resource Development encompasses several aspects of enabling and empowering human resources in organization. Whereas earlier HRD was denoted as managing people in organizations with emphasis on payroll, training and other functions that were designed to keep employees happy, the current line of management thought focuses on empowering and enabling them to become employees capable of fulfilling their aspirations and actualizing their potential.
This shift in the way human resources are treated has come about due to the prevailing notion that human resources are sources of competitive advantage and not merely employees fulfilling their job responsibilities. The point here is that the current paradigm in HRD treats employees as value creators and assets based on the RBV or the Resource Based View of the firm that has emerged in the SHRM (Strategic Human Resource Management) field.