Human Resource Development

1. To enhance students’ knowledge and understanding of the principles and nature of learning and development.
2. To encourage critical appraisal of the range of relevant concepts, theories and practices in the field of Human Resource Development.
3. To reinforce and improve students’ ability to apply the processes of development of human assets in an organisational context.

Programme Content and Learning Objectives

The content and objectives outlined represent a framework for the practice of Human Resource Development. Differences of academic and practical opinion must be taken account of and the objectives are not to be taken as exclusive or limiting.

• Appreciate a variety of definitions of HRD.
• Understand the need for development and the potential benefit to individuals and to organisations of continuous learning and development.
• Understand barriers to learning and to development.

• Understand a variety of theories of learning and of development and be able to critically discuss differences in these theories.
• Recognise distinctions between individual, organisational, management, career and professional development and discuss processes relevant to each.

3. Organisational Context

• Recognise how the characteristics of organisational culture and leadership influence an organisation's approach to human resources development.
• Understand the impact of the organisational environment and of strategy to approaches to training and development.

• Apply processes of performance assessment, performance appraisal and performance management.
• Understand distinctions between assessment to determine reward and assessment in the context of employee development and critically appraise circumstances where these objectives are in conflict.
• Recognise reward as an element of motivation and understand the fundamentals of the theories of Herzberg and Maslow.

• Provide a critical review of a variety of opinions and circumstances in distinguishing between training and development.
• Describe similarities and differences in the established traditional processes of training and of employee development.
• Discuss the difficulties of evaluating the benefits of training and development and their relevance to an organisation’s culture and strategy.

• Understand the reasons for the increasing attention to management development.
• Recognise the wide variety of views about what management development means and how it might be done, including the competence-based approach and accidental, opportunistic and planned processes.
• Recognise the relevance of organisational culture and leadership and understand the clarity of objectives and the individual interest.