addition, theorists have even tried to define HRD from a global and international perspective.
Definitions from organizational point of view are listed below.
“A series of organized activities conducted within a specified time and designed to
produce behavioral change” (by Nadler and Nadler 1970)
“A set of systematic and planned activities designed by an organization to provide its
members with the opportunities to learn necessary skills to meet current and future job
demands” (Werner and DeSimone 2006)
(Swanson and Holton, n.d) has also quoted definitions of HRD offered by some authors
(McLagan; Gilley & England and Smith) as:
“HRD is the integrated use of training and development, career development and
organizational development to improve individual and organizational effectiveness” (McLagan).
“HRD is organized learning activities arranged within an organization to improve
performance and personal growth for the purpose of improving the job, the individual, and the
organization” (Gilley and England),
“HRD is the process of determining the optimum methods of developing and improving
the human resources of an organization and the systematic improvement of the performance of
employees through training, education and development and leadership for the mutual
attainment of organizational and personal goals” (Smith)
Byrne, (1999) is of the opinion that HRD is a function in an organization that provides
opportunities for an individual worker to improve current and future job performance, while
simultaneously best utilizing human capital in order to improve the efficiency of the
organization itself. Ideally, well-developed and well-implemented HRD systems are integral to
the company’s strategic plan and benefit both the employee and the company.
Dimensions of HRD in Historical Perspective
Werner and DeSimone (2006) described HRD as a function of HRM. (Swanson and Holton n.d)
asserted that it is easy to logically connect the origins of HRD to the history of humankind and
the training required to survive or advance. While HRD is a relatively new term, training—the
largest component of HRD—can be tracked back through the evolution of the human race.
Metcalfe and Rees (2005) also expressed by quoting many studies that HRD is relatively a new
field of academic study and there is no homogeneity in ‘HRD intellectual inquiry and
proliferation of global HRD. Research suggests that we should, at least, be starting to scratch the
surface of the many socio-cultural variations that shape HRD philosophies and practices.