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According to Haslinda-b (2009) the origin of HRD was suggested to have started, in the USA
during the advent of the ‘Industrial Revolution’, in 1800s. But some writers argued that the
roots of HRD emerged in 1913 when Ford Motor started training its workers to produce mass
production in the assembly line.
Haslinda and Hiok (2009) by referring many studies narrated that researchers believe that the
debates are complicated by the beliefs and understanding of individual stakeholders and HRD
practitioners. Haslinda and Hiok are of the opinion that theorizing and modeling HRD worldwide
is a complex task and varies between countries. Although somewhat debatable, several studies
in both developed and developing countries have been undertaken to develop a descriptive
framework of HRD practices. These studies found that the nature and extent of HRD varies from
one country to another and is influenced by the economic, political, cultural, labor market and
educational systems of each individual country. In an attempt to explain human resource
development, numerous authors have debated the theoretical concepts of HRD, yet a distinctive
conceptual and theoretical identity has not been established.
Haslinda-a (2009) squeezing from many researches has concluded that most countries such as
Russia, Germany and Korea equate HRD with training and development (T&D) and the main
focus is on activities related to training. USA scholars have charted the intellectual history and
origin of HRD within human development (psychology and education) and human capital
(economics and management). In the United Kingdom scholars have highlighted the
importance of culture, leadership and organizational learning as components of HRD processes.
The terrain of HRD inquiry has thus perhaps always been multidisciplinary.
Jaishi (n.d) expressed that HRD has gained increasing application as a goal, and as a process in
the developmental field. As a goal it is equated with the development of human capacity and
up-lift of human aspirations. In terms of process, HRD involves activities related to education,
training, empowerment, awareness raising, skills enhancement, team building, community
mobilization and development, organization development, entrepreneurship development,
sensitization and conscientisation, human resources planning and policies. In the Indian concept
of HRD (expressed in “The National Concept of HRD”), education and culture constitute the core
of the strategy, however, it is not education in the narrow sense of schooling, but a broad
concept encompassing health, nutrition, employment, science & technology, equality and
special attention to weaker groups, education being used as an instrument of peoples
development and access to opportunities and facilities in all these areas.