Human Resources and Organization Development

Human Resource Development is vital to organizations as it helps to improve business performance through the development of workforce, and directing and improving abilities and skills through activities planned to improve organizational learning. There are numerous definitions of Human Resource Development (Swanson & Holton, 2009) however I prefer the definition posited by Swanson (1995) as stated in Swanson & Holton (2009) because among other things (as discussed below) this resonates very well with me. Moreover, Swanson is one of the prolific scholars and contributors in the field of Human Resource and Organizational Development. According to Swanson & Holton (2009), “Human Resource Development (HRD) is a process of developing and unleashing expertise for the purpose of improving individual, team, work process, and organizational system performance” (p. 4) I believe this “expertise” can be generated through training and development which is one of the core functions of Human Resource Development. The focal point of human resource development is on developing the most superior workforce so that the organization and employees can accomplish their work goals and effective services to clients or customers and stakeholders. As I stated above Swanson & Holton (2009) definition of HRD is the most preferable, mainly because of its emphasizes on key elements in the field and practice of HRD such as developing “expertise” at the individual level, group/team level and at the organizational level towards achieving the goal of effective organizational performance. This definition also amplifies the mutuality and importance as well as the interconnectivity and or interdependence of these forces. Furthermore, organizations have many opportunities for human resources or employee development, both within and outside of the workplace. All activities in the HRD are intended to improve people's abilities to achieve definite objectives and goals. Human Resource Development