Employees in technical firms, like garages, need more and more formations. Due to the very fast innovation in technology, lifelong learning is a real need for these labour forces. On the other hand, there are the needed formations very specialized and expensive. Another problem employers faced in these economical sectors in Western Europe is the…

Twelve exemplary service providers from three highly acclaimed resorts discuss and demonstrate what it takes to deliver award-winning service consistently. This research, using a qualitative, explanatory case study method, sought to investigate how they do it. Three themes emerged from the data that should have a profound impact on HRD (human…

This article examined organizational leadership in the context of China. Taking a cultural perspective, this literature review traced the cultural roots of Chinese leadership and analyzed the cultural impact on leadership practice in organizations. It further provided general guidelines for leadership development in China, followed by…

This paper will study some of the problems associated with case studies and make recommendations using standard and innovative methodologies effectively. Human resource management (HRM) and resource development cases provide context for analysis and decision-making designs in different industries. In most HRM development and training courses…

In this paper, I would like to offer the suggestion that HRD (human resource development) become an ethics champion within the corporations and the organizations we serve. By surveying and synthesizing literature from higher education and professional associations on business ethics theory and practice, this paper provides both rationale as well…

This study explores opportunity costs of postsecondary education in the U.S. in the past three decades. Based on human capital theory, data from the U.S. Census, along with parameters for high education achievement (involving bachelors and advanced degrees), were fed into a forecasting model developed for this purpose. Beyond descriptive…

Social constructivism provides the framework for exploring communities of practice and storytelling at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in this applied theory paper. A brief overview of traditional learning and development efforts as well as the current knowledge sharing initiative is offered. In addition, a conceptual plan…

This paper illustrates how Mode 2 "design science" research can generate HRD related "general knowledge" in support of evidence-based practice. It describes a "derived-etic" study that compares and contrasts the findings of six previous "emic" studies previously carried out within six different public and…

Although there are have been some studies on National Human Resource Development and HRD practices in certain countries, literature shows that we have just scratched the surface in terms of the number of countries we know about. This exploratory study reviews research associated with HRD policies and practices in Brazil, China, India, Italy,…

This study investigates the length of time it takes training budgets in five industries to respond to changes in the demand for their services/activity and for their speed of response to changes in productive activity. The results indicate that for the industries studied, the length of lag between change in demand and median adjustment to that…

The research to practice gap within HRD is increasingly important as a focus of research. This study seeks to expand on the findings from a pilot study presented at the 2006 AHRD International Conference by empirically investigating this gap from the perspective of practitioners who are directly asked about their use of research. Results indicate…

This paper reviews the literature on Confucian philosophy in general and explores its influences on adult learners who come from Confucian-influenced societies. The Confucian philosophy is reviewed to four principles and found to have a strong influence on Confucian adults in learning. The implication of findings and recommendations are discussed.…

Based on extensive literature review, this study reports the result of a meta analysis of learning outcome studies and presents an integrated typology of content types and learning outcomes. Examining the ERIC database for learning studies conducted from 1992 until 2006 shows that most empirical studies have assessed the learning outcome at lower…

This article investigates factors that motivate participants in learning and training activities to transfer skills, knowledge and attitude from the learning setting to the workplace. Based on training transfer theories hypothesized by Holton (1996), one of the major theories that affect an organization's learning is motivation to transfer theory.…

Virtual environments, once used strictly for gaming and military training, have developed into spaces for community building and collaboration rather than competition. This literature review explores virtual worlds and underlying theories of interest to Human Resource Development (HRD). Findings suggest application opportunities for HRD in five…