Objectives and Challenges for Employers to Adopt and Implement the Strategic Approach to Hrd
As David Mankin mentioned in his book, “Inevitably globalization is having a huge impact on the role, nature, and purpose of HRD in organizations of all sizes and sectors across the world” (2009). Obviously, facing the economical globalization, development of technology, the coming of information age and lowering of trade barriers, as a result firms have to think of new and effective ideas to compete with other competitors. Human capital is the most special asset of a company. It is special because people cannot be separated from their knowledge, skills, health, or values in the way they can be separated from their financial and physical assets (Becker, 2008). The result, organizations’ aim is to make their own human capital special that other organizations cannot copy. Competitive advantage is secured when organizations have skills and capabilities that are unique, difficult to replicate and imitate by competitors (Rainbird, 1995). HRD is a process of developing and unleashing human expertise through organization development, personnel training and development for the purpose of improving performance (Swanson & Holton, 2001). McCracken and Wallace have mentioned in their article that, organizations should ensure any investment which is made in human capital with the promotion of HRD strategy is clearly linked to the wider corporate strategy (2000). Strategic approach to HRD is a relative new concept in HRD and training and development fields. It is not a traditional training and developing view of interventions in response to specific problems of organizations (Beer & Spector, 1998). A strategic approach to HRD is a multi-level concept whose contribution to the organization is to enhance its performance in the long-term (Garavan, 2007). It suggests that the HRD activities should integrate with the strategies, aims and goals of the organization. This paper mainly talks about the objectives for organizations to choose strategic approach to human resource management
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