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HumanResourceDevelopmentInternational
Vol.
12,No.1,February2009,93103
PERSPECTIVESONTHEORY
Clarifyingtheboundariesofhumanresourcedevelopment
GregG.
Wang*andJudyY.Sun
TheUniversityofTexasat
Tyler,Texas,USA
Thisarticleclarifiestheboundariesofhumanresource
development(HRD)with
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respecttootherconceptsfrequentlyusedand
misusedinHRDliterature.Throughaproposition,asetofcriteriafor
humanresourcesispresented.Across-cultureliteraturecomparisonofthecriteriademonstrates
theconsistencyoftheconnotationintwocontrastingcultures.ThisstudyhasimportantimplicationsforHRDresearch,practiceandcontinuedtheorydevelopmenteffort.Itrelates
totheidentity
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anddistinctivenessofHRDdiscipline,aswell
asthedomainofHRDresearchandpractice.
Keywords:human
resources;humancapital;humandevelopment;HRDpolicystudies;NHRD
Afew
recenthumanresourcedevelopment(HRD)scholarlydiscussionshavepresentedtheideaofalteringtheestablishedboundariesofHRD(e.g.McLean2004;Paprock2006).Theproblems
andchallengesresulting
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inHRDboundarystretchingcanbeclarified
throughamorerigorousanalysisofthekeytermsofthediscipline
andtheirtheoreticalimplicationsforHRDtheoryandpractice.Forexample,anumber
ofrecentstudiesquestionedandanalysedthelegitimacyoftheideaofnationalHRDandsupportedtheconceptofHRDpolicystudies(e.g.Wang2008;
WangandSwanson
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2008a,b).
DefinitionofHRD
haslongbeendiscussed.Weinberger(1998)listed18differentHRDdefinitionsthat
haveinfluencedthefield.Moredefinitionshaveemergedsincethen.Historically,HRDscholars
tendedtofocusonthedevelopmentaspectofthedefinition,anddebatedonwhatactivitiesconstitutedthemeaningofdevelopment
(e.g.Lee2001;
Swanson2001).The
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discussionsapparentlyassumedthatthefirsttwo
words,humanandresources,wereagreedupon.CurrentHRDliteraturechallengesexisting
connotationsofhumanresourcesthesubjectandtargetpopulationofHRD.Any
discussionofthedisciplinewillnecessarilybeframedbythetermshuman,resourceanddevelopment,unlessthereisanagreementtochangingthename,scope
andtheboundary
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ofthedisciplineandestablishinganalternative
field.Giventheconformityofthethreeconcepts,human,resourceanddevelopment,
*Correspondingauthor.Email:[email protected]
ISSN1367-8868print/ISSN1469-8374online
.2009Taylor&FrancisDOI:10.1080/13678860802638875http://www.informaworld.com
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94G.G.WangandJ.Y.Sun
representingthediscipline,discussionoftheirseparateandcombinedsubject
domainsanddefinitionsshouldstartnecessarilyandlogicallywiththeunderstandingonwhat
thethreeconceptsconvey.Humanresourcedevelopment,asthetermsuggests,includesthecriticalcomponentsofhumanresourceanddevelopment.Thefirstcomponentisabout
who,orthe
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subjectandtargetpopulationofthefield
ofHRD;thesecondcomponentisaboutwhat,themeansandfunction
ofthefield.
Researchquestionandsignificance
Toclarify
theuniqueanddistinctivedomainofthedisciplineofHRD,thisstudyexploresandanalysesthecoresubjectareasthatareorarenotto
beembracedby
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HRD.Itistoaddressthefollowing
criticalquestion,WhodowedevelopthroughthedisciplineofHRD?
Giventheresearchquestion,wedonotseektodebateonthe
existingdefinitionsofHRD.Neitherwillweproposeanotherdefinition.Instead,weaddresshowHRDprofessionalsshouldunderstandandinterpretthetermofHRD,and
raisesomecritical
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issuesfortheHRDcommunities.Furthermore,we
hopetostimulatemorerigorousdefinitionaltheorybuildingresearchinHRDthrough
thisstudy.
Itisalmostimpossibletoaccuratelydefine,interpretand
understandamulti-wordconcept,suchashumanresourcedevelopment,withoutconsideringtheindividualwordscomprisingit.Logically,theconceptualdefinitionandtheinterpretationof
theindividualwords
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representingadisciplineshouldbeconsistentacross
culturesandbeabletocrossnationalborders.Thisistruenot
onlyforallnaturalsciences,butalsoforallsocialsciences,althoughthese
aresociallyconstructed.Ifpsychology,politicalscience,linguistics,economicsandmanagementscience,aswellasmanyothersocialsciencedisciplines,havetheiruniversallydefinedresearch
domainsacrossborders
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(e.g.Dogan1996;HarbinsonandMyers1959),
HRDasadisciplineshouldhavethesameeffect.Withaclear
understandingofthethreeiconicconcepts,human,resourceanddevelopment,thatsymbolizethe
discipline,itislikelytoreachclarityandconsensusofthedefinitioninthediscipline.Inpursuitoftheresearchquestion,thisstudyisfocused
onhumanresource.
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Theanalysisisextendedlogicallytoother
relatedconceptsthatareoftenusedinterchangeablywithit,suchashuman
capitalandotherrelatedconceptsanddomainsofresearch.
Humanresources:
thesubjectofHRD
Inthethree-wordconcept,weassumehumanhasnocontroversialinterpretations.Itreferstoanyhumanbeingwhois
ofanyage
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andgender,includinginfantsoradults,with
anycharacteristicsinhealthconditions,socialstatus,educationlevels,nationaloriginsand
culturalbackgrounds.
Afieldcombininghumananddevelopment,humandevelopment,has
beenestablishedpriortotheexistenceofHRD.Itisabroadlybasedfieldincorporatingpsychology,physiologyandsociologyamongothers,andcoveringsuchmatters
ashumangrowth,
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qualityandstandardofhumanlife,anti
HIV/AIDS,homelessissues,domesticviolence,drunk-drivingbehaviour,cleandrinkingwaterandmany
otherhumanlife-relatedareas(Thomas2001).However,humandevelopmentisnothowand
whatwesayweareengagedin,atleastfromtheagreeableframeworkofthefield,humanresourcedevelopment.Thekeyconceptdifferentiatinghumanand
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HumanResourceDevelopmentInternational
humanresources,therefore,istheresource(s)aspect.Itisvitaltounderstand
andinterprettheconnotationofresource(s).
Onlyonedefinitionofresource
hasbeenfoundinthemanagementliteraturethroughourliteraturesearch.GreenhausandPowelldefinesthataresourceisanassetthatmaybedrawn
onwhenneeded
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tosolveaproblemorcopewith
achallengingsituation(2006,80).Clearly,thisdefinitionstressesthefollowingfeatures
ofaresource:(1)availabilityandreadiness;(2)problem-solvingorchallengecoping;and
theendresultleadsto(3)value-adding.
Althoughnootherdefinitionofresourcewasfoundinrelatedscholarlyliterature,oursearchofdictionary
definitionsrevealedthat
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alldefinitionsofresourceindictionariesare
consistentwithGreenhausandPowellsdefinition(2006).Forexample,RandomHouseWebsters
UnabridgedDictionary(2001,1640)definesresourceas
asourceofsupply,
support,oraid,especiallyonethatcanbereadilydrawnuponwhenneeded.Inpluralform,resourcesrefertoacountrysmeansofproducingwealth.
Often,itrefers
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toanavailablemeansaffordedbythe
mindoronespersonalcapabilities.(Emphasisadded)
Itslastentry
refersresourcestocapabilityindealingwithasituationorinmeetingdifficulties.
Sevenotherauthoritativedictionaries,includingtwoChineseones,allcarryidenticalmeaningsofresource(s).Infact,theChinesedictionariesfurtherclassifyresourcesintorenewablesand
non-renewables.
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Combiningscholarlyanddictionarydefinitions,resourcehas
thefollowingcharacteristics.First,itisrealistic,notpotential.Ithasto
bereadyandavailablewhenneeded,notpotentiallyavailable.Second,ithasthe
capabilityofbeingproductiveandaddingvaluetoaproductiveprocessoritcanbeusedasameansofcreatingwealthandrevenueto
satisfyahuman
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orsocietalneed.Third,theconnotationof
resourcesalreadyembeddedthecapacitiesorskillsinproblemsolving.
Therefore,humanresourcesshouldhaveanunambiguousconnotation:theyrefertothosehuman
beingswhoarenotpotentially,butwithaninitialproductivecapacityandcapability,realisticallyreadyandavailableforparticipatinginsociallyproductiveactivitiesthatcan
addvalueto
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well-beingsofasocietyinagiven
sociallyconstructeddomain.Theconceptofhumanresourcesdefinedhereexcludesthose
thatarenotavailabletobeproductive,cannotaddvalueorbeplaced
insociallyproductiveroles.
Criteriaofhumanresources:aproposition
Basedontheaboveanalysis,incorporatinglabourforceparticipationtheoryin
economics(Ehrenbergand
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Smith1994)andadultlearningparticipationtheory
(Merriam,Caffarella,andBaumgartner2006),wepresentthefollowingproposition:
Proposition:tobeconsideredaspartofhumanresources,apersonisto
bereadyandavailable,hasdesireandwillingness,withphysicaland/ormentalcapacityandcapability,andinitialminimumskillandability,andnotboundedby
institutionalandlegal
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restriction,toparticipateinsociallyproductiveactivities.
Thepropositiondefinesseveralcriticalcriteriathatareimportantto
framethedomainofhumanresources.
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96G.G.WangandJ.Y.Sun
Readinessandavailability
Humanresourcesaretoinclude
thosewhoarereadyandavailabletoparticipatein,paidorunpaid,socially
productiveandvalue-addedactivities.Thiscriterionnotonlyexcludesthoseenrolledinfulltimetraditionaleducationinstitutions,butalsorulesoutthosewhoarenot
upto(or
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beyond)asociallyproductiveage,althoughthey
mayhavegreatpotentialtobe,orintheprocessofbeing
developedinto,sociallyproductiveroles.Atthesametime,theunreadyandunavailable
onesmaybeintheprocessofhumancapitalinvestmentorpartofthelifelonglearningprocess,preparingforfutureproductivity,suchashighschool
ortraditionalfull
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timecollegestudents.Forsimplicity,weomit
thecasesofpart-timecollegestudentsforunnecessarylengthydiscussion.However,gauged
bythisandtheremainingcriteria,itisnotdifficulttodeterminewhether
aparticularpart-timerbelongstohumanresources.
Willingnessanddesireforproductiveactivities
Apersonmaybeavailableaspartof
humanresources,but
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dropoutof,workforceactivities,whencompared
tothegroupwhoreceivebequestsaveragingUS$7700(Holtz-Eakin,Joulfaian,andRosen
1994).Clearly,thosewhovoluntarilydropoutoftheworkforceforthisand
otherreasonsarenolongpartofhumanresourceseveniftheymeetallothercriteria.
Thiscriterionistobedifferentiatedfrom
willingnessto,and
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desirefor,performingspecifictaskswithinan
organization.Itisaperformanceissueifanemployeedoesnothave
willingnessanddesiretoperformcertaintasksbecausethatpersonisalreadypart
ofthehumanresourcesoftheorganization.HRDscholarsandpractitionershavehadaclearboundarytodealwithsuchworkplaceperformanceissues(seeSwanson
2007).
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Physicalandmentalcapacity
A
14-year-oldcannotbeconsideredphysicallyandmentallymaturetobesociallyproductive,
exceptforlimitedneighbourhoodbabysittingservices.Ageingrelatedretirementandotherphysicaland
mentalconditionscanalsolimitapersonsparticipationinsociallyproductiveactivities.Therefore,thosewholiveinnursinghomesafterretirementshouldnotbeconsidered
apartof
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humanresources.Althoughthepersonmaystill
havethedesireandwillingnesstowork,his/herphysicalconditionspreventthe
personfromdoingso.Suchphysicalandmentalrestrictionscanalsobecaused
byillnessandotherrelatedhealthreasonsregardlessofageingconditions.
ThiscriterionshouldnotbeconfusedwiththoseprotectedunderAmericanDisability
Act(ADA)or
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anyothernationsequivalentlaws.Anindividual
maybedisabledinaparticularwaythatpreventsthepersonto
performcertainproductivetasksinsomeareas.However,he/shemaystillhaveskills
andcapacitiesinadifferentarea.Thus,his/herphysicalandmentalconditionmaystillbesociallyproductiveandaddvaluetoasocietyfortasks
correspondingtothe
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conditions.Theseindividuals,ifmeetothercriteria,
arestillpartofhumanresourcesintheirowncontexts.
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HumanResourceDevelopmentInternational
Minimuminitialskillsandability
Individualsmusthaveaninitial
minimumskillsandabilitycorrespondingtotheleveloftaskstobeperformed
intheproductiveprocesstobequalifiedaspartofhumanresourcesatthatlevel.Ahighschoolfreshgraduatecannotbeconsideredapart
ofhumanresources
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inaseniormanagementteam,whereashe/she
maybequalifiedforbeingapartofhumanresourcesata
localStarbucksshoporotherworkplaceswithequivalentskillrequirements.However,theperson
canindeedbeengagedinhumancapitalinvestmentprocessesbyattendingcollegeandgraduateschool,oron-the-jobtraining,andacquiringadditionalmanagementskillsandexperience
tobecomepart
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ofhumanresourcesfortheseniormanagement
teaminthefuture.
Thesecriteriaanddomainsofhuman
resourcearerelativewithrespecttohistorical,technological,andsocioeconomiccontexts.Ahigh
schoolgraduatemaybeconsideredahumanresourceatahigherlevelhalfacenturyago,butonlyatalowerlevelcontemporarily.Similarly,the
sameeducationbackground
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maybeconsideredahigh-levelhumanresource
insomecountries,butmaynotbethecaseinothers.However,
inorganizationalreality,itisoftenunnecessarytospecifywhichgroupofemployees
belongstowhatcategoriesofhumanresources.Yet,itdoesnotimplythatthiscriterionisnotineffect.Forinstance,aseniorexecutiveand
amailroomclerk
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arebothconsideredhumanresourcesinan
organization,buttheirrolesandresponsibilities,aswellasrelatedcompetenciesrequired
toperformthejobs,clearlydefineandseparatethemintodifferenthumanresources
categoriesintheorganization.
Institutionalorlegalrestrictions
Humansocietiesarecomplexpoliticalandlegalsystems.Theboundariesofinstitutionsconfine
humansystemsin
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varyingways.Thus,institutionalrestrictionsshouldalso
beconsideredacriterionindefininghumanresources.Considerafamiliarcase,
anillegalimmigrantmaymeetallothercriteriadiscussedabove,buttheperson
isnotconsideredpartofhumanresourcesuntilhe/shereturnstohis/herownlegallyresidingcountryoruntilhe/shereceiveslegalstatusinthemigrating
regionorcountry.
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Thisrealitydemonstratesthatinstitutionalorlegal
restrictionconstitutesanimportantsystemboundaryandacriterionfordefininghuman
resources.
Insummary,theconnotationofhumanresourcesshouldbegauged
simultaneouslybyallthecriteriaintheproposition.IgnoringanyoneinHRDtheorybuildingandresearchmaymisleadthedomainandboundaryofHRD
discipline.
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Cross-cultureverification
Toconsiderthe
propositioninacross-culturesetting,weconductedaverificationstudyofthe
propositionbetweentwonationswithwell-documentedandsharplycontrastingcultures(Hofstede1993):China
andtheUnitedStates.First,thepropositionisanoutcomeofcross-cultureresearch.BothauthorshavecompletedcollegeandgraduateeducationinChinaandtrained
orarebeing
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trainedintheUSAforPhDsin
HRD.Particularly,thesecondauthorisundertakingfirstyearstudiesina
USprogrammewithminimuminfluencefromtheWesterncontext.Itisconfirmedthat
theconceptsincludedwithinandthemeaningofthepropositioncanbetranslatedword-by-wordbetweenEnglishandChinesewithoutambiguity.
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98G.G.WangandJ.Y.Sun
Second,ourreviewofChinesescholarlyliteratureishighlyconsistent
withthepropositionpresented.Chinesescholarsestablishedafieldcalledhumantalentology(Ren
CaiXue)inlate1987(Liu1987)withadefinitionofhumantalentsimilartothepropositionpresented.Morerecently,XiaandZhou(2003)and
Yin(2005)also
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definedhumanresourcesalongthesamelines.
Humanresources,humantalentsandworkforceareusedfrequentlyandinterchangeablyin
theChineseliterature.WesummarizethetranslatedChinesedefinitionsofhumanresourcesbelow:
Humanresourcesarephysicalandtalentresourcesembeddedinindividuals,andareabletoaccomplishrequiredworktasksindependentlyandcontributetosocial
economicdevelopment.They
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arecomposedofacombinationofindividuals
cognition,personality,interests,motivation,attitude,ability,aswellasknowledgeandskills.
Theformationofsuchcapacitiesisdeterminedbytheoverallcharacteristicsandeffects
ofinnateability,educationprocess,andteamsandinstitutions,whichisthebaseforaccomplishingparticulartasksandactivities,thusdeterminingthequantity,qualityand
speedofthe
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accomplishments(Liu1987;XiaandZhou2003;
Yin2005).Somealsoextendsthedefinitionstospecificagegroupsaccording
toChineselegalrequirements,confirmingtheinstitutionalrestrictionacriterionforhumanresources
intheChinesecontext.
Further,thisstudyhasbeencompletedforoverayear.Duringthisperiod,wehavedistributedthemanuscriptto
agroupof
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selectedHRDscholarsandpractitionersbothin
andoutsideoftheUSforcritiquesandfeedback.Moreover,thestudy
wasusedasadebatetopicinHRDgraduateteachingwheremultipleinternational
studentsfromChina,RussiaandBulgariawereenrolled.WealsopresentedtheearlierversionsofthestudyattwodifferentinternationalHRDconferences.Allrelevant
feedback,critiquesand
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socio-culturalcontextrelatedissuesareincorporatedin
itscurrentpresentation.
Humanresourcesandrelatedconcepts:alifespan
view
Toexploretheresearchquestionfurther,itisnecessaryto
combinesomeHRD-relatedconceptsandfoundationaltheoriesfrequentlyfoundinHRDliteratureinasimplifiedlifespanview.Figure1presentsatypicallifespanwith
sectionallifestages
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forarepresentativehumanbeing.Thisview
coversmostHRD-relatedconceptsofteninterchangeablyusedandmisusedintheliterature,
suchashumandevelopment,humancapitalinvestment,psychologyandlifelonglearning.Italso
embracesotherfiniteandspecificstagesofhumanlife,suchasearlychildhood
Figure1.Alifespanview:whoshouldHRDdevelop?
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HumanResourceDevelopmentInternational
education,generaleducation(includingcollegeeducationforsimplicity),humanresourcedevelopmentor
workforcedevelopment,adultlearningandgerontology.
Thelongspan:humancapital
investment,humandevelopment,psychologyandlifelonglearning
LineAIinFigure1representstheentirelifespanofourrepresentativethatallfourconcepts
cover.Itshows
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humandevelopment,humancapitalinvestmentandpsychology
overlappingandcoveringtheentirelifespan.Thesametimeperiodalsocoverslifelong
learning.
Humancapitalinvestmentisthemostfrequentlymisusedconcept
inHRDliterature.Fromthebeginning,economicresearchonhumancapitaliscomprehensive,encompassingallaspectsofinvestmentactivitiesacrosstheentirelifespanofhuman
beings.Itincludes
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notonlyformalschooling,fromearlychildhood
(BeckerandLewis1973)tocollege(Becker1960)andjob-relatedtraining(Mincer
1962),butalsomigration(Greenwood1975),healthcare(Klarman1963)andsocialwelfare-
relatedrealms(Gordon1963).Studiesonhumancapitalalsoexpandedtofertility(BarroandBecker1989),longevity(EhrlichandLui1991;Kalemli-Ozcan2003)andmortality
(Kalemli-Ozcan2002,2003).
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Indeed,humancapitaltheory,asmanifestedby
thename,studiestheinvestmentovertheentirehumanlife(Cervellatiand
Sunde2005).AsdemonstratedinFigure1,HRDonlycoversonemajorsectional
lifespanofthelifelonghumancapitalinvestmentactivities.Therefore,HRDisnotequivalenttohumancapitalinvestmentingeneralterm,andneitherdoesHRDcover
thesamespan
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aslifelonglearning.Instead,HRDisa
specialformofhumancapitalinvestmentandpartofalifelong
learning,withinahumanbeingsproductivelife.Theresearchandapplicationofhuman
capitaltheoryinHRDmustidentifytheapplicablerangeandappropriatelifespanforhumancapitalstudies.
Atorganizationallevel,itisaccurateand
appropriatetoequate
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humanresourcetohumancapitalbecauseadding
valuetotheorganizationisthefirstreasonforanorganizationto
investinemployeesintheformsofcompensation/benefit,trainingandotheractivities.This
isconsistentwiththepropositionthatanynewhireinorganizationshasaninitialproductivity.Ontheotherhand,thepurposeoffurtherinvestmentin
theemployees,the
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humancapitaloftheorganizations,isto
enhancetheircurrentandfutureproductivityfortheorganizations.Itisalmost
certainthatnotmanyorganizationswouldbeinterestedinhumancapitalinvestmentin
suchawaythattheyrecruitahighschoolfreshgraduateandinvestinthepersonuntilhe/shebecomesaseniorexecutive.
Atnationallevel,
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thepicturemayappeartobevague
andconfusingtosome.Thecollectiveconceptofhumanbeingsata
nationallevelisoftenreferredtoaspopulation.However,accordingtotheproposition,
populationshouldnotequatetohumanresources.Yet,theconceptofhumanandpopulationinanationalcontextmaybeconsideredhumancapitalofthe
nation,becausethe
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youngerpopulationmayhavethepotentialto
besociallyproductivegivensufficienttimeandotherinvestments.Inotherwords,
notallthoseinanationspopulationcanbeproductiveoraddvalue
tothenationaleconomyatagiventime.Onlythoseactivelyinvolvedintheworkforcecandoso.
Similartohumancapitalresearch
ineconomics,human
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developmentalsocoverstheentirelifespanof
humanbeings.AspointedoutbyPaprock,itincludesallaspectsoflifeexpectancy,
attainmentofeducation,andadjustedrealincome(2006,
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100G.G.WangandJ.Y.Sun
1213).However,whetherHRDmustbeexpandedtoinvolveall
threecomponents(2006,13)ofhumandevelopmentisquestionableintermsoffield
identityandtheorybuildingrequirementsasdefinedintheproposition.Itisalsouptotheacceptanceofthescholarsandpractitionersinthetwo
differentdisciplines.
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Lifelonglearningisanambiguousterm
usedfrequentlyinHRDandadultlearningliteratures(Jarvis2004).Itrefers
toalearningprocessthroughoutoneslifespanandoverlapswiththesamespan
ashumancapitalinvestmentandhumandevelopment.Itmaybeconsideredaconsciouseffortinself-humancapitalinvestment(Jarvis,2004).However,whenreferringtothe
conceptoflifelong
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learninginorganizationalsettings,itindeedrefers
toorganizationallifelonglearning.Mostorganizationswouldnotbeinterestedinan
individualslearning
beyondtheemploymentduration.Attheindividuallevel,lifelonglearningis
consistentwiththeothertwoconceptsinthelifespan,humandevelopment(HD)andhumancapitalinvestment.Toavoidconfusion,itismoreappropriatetorefer
toorganizationbased
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individuallearningasworkplacelearning,insteadof
lifelonglearning.
Theshortlifespans:asectionalanalysis
Ifweaccepttheaboveanalysis,therestoftheconceptsinthe
sectionallifespansinFigure1willbeeasiertounderstand.Earlierchildhoodeducationcoverstheagespanbetween0and6asrepresentedbysection
ABinFigure
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1.Itisasectionallifespanunder
allfourconcepts,i.e.HCI,HD,psychologyandlifelonglearning.Itis
notinthedomainofHRDdefinedbytheproposition.Similarly,generaleducation
includesprimaryandsecondaryeducationandtraditionalcollegestudents.ItisafinitelifespanundertheconceptsofHCI,HDandlifelonglearningasrepresented
bysectionBF.
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Individualswithinthisparticularlifespangenerallydo
notmeetallthehumanresourcescriteria.Therefore,theyarenotin
thedomainandsubjectofHRD.However,itmaybecontroversialasto
whetherincludecollegestudentsashumanresources.Foranalyticalsimplicity,itisassumedthattheydonotmeetthereadinessandavailabilitycriterion.Indeed,an
averagecollegestudent
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isinvestingthetimeandfinancialresources
tobereadyandavailableforanupcomingsociallyproductivelife.
OnlythoseinthelifespanrepresentedbysectionDGareinthe
domainofHRDresearchandpractice.Inotherwords,HRDistodevelopthosehumanbeingswhohavecompletedcertainlevelsofhumancapitalinvestment
(readyandavailable)
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andareactivelyinvolvedintheworkforce
activities(willingandhavedesire)withminimuminitialskillsandcapability,and
withoutinstitutionalrestrictionsforsociallyproductiveactivities.Apparently,thesectionallifespanforthe
domainofHRDissignificantlylongoveranindividualslifespan.ThissometimesdisguisesthefactthatHRDisnottocovertheentirehumanlifespan.
Additionally,thelifespan
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coveredbyHRDisoverlappingwiththe
conceptofworkplacelearning.However,thecontent,activities,andconsequencesofthe
twomaybedifferentbecauseworkplacelearning,ifnotperformancefocused,maybe
informationalandforthepurposeofenrichment.ItmaynotalwaysresultinimprovedperformanceasdiscussedbySwanson(2001).
Afterretirementand
beforetheend
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ofthelife,ourrepresentativeisthe
subjectofgerontology,adisciplineexploringageingandrelatedhumanbehavioursand
activitiesundertheumbrellaofhumandevelopment.Sincemosthumanbeingsinthis
lifestagearenolongeractiveinsociallyproductiveactivities,theyshouldnotbe
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HumanResourceDevelopmentInternational101
inthedomainofHRDresearchandpractice.Adulteducation,on
theotherhand,coversthecombinedlifespansofHRDandgerontologyandconcerns
abouttheentireadultlifelonglearningasrepresentedbysectionEI(Mackeracher2006;Merriam,Caffarella,andBaumgartner2006).Thislifespanvieweffectivelyclarifiesthetarget
populationanddomain
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ofresearchforadulteducationandHRD.
InFigure1,theremaybesomeshortoverlappingperiod
betweenanytwoadjacentsectionallifespansasrepresentedbyDFandHG.This
istoindicatesomevariationsinindividualslifespans.Forexample,DFrepresentsacasethatanindividualmayalreadybeengagedinfull-timesociallyproductive
activitiesbeforegraduating
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fromaneducationprogramme.HGsuggeststhat
apersonisretiredatanolderagethanaverageindividualsat
thesametimeheorsheentersintothedomainofgerontologyresearch
andpractice.However,thesevariationsshouldnotaffectourgeneralanalysisofthelifespanscoveredbythedifferentfieldsanddisciplines.
Conclusionand
implicationsforHRD
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theorybuildingresearch
Ourstudy
onthecriteriaofhumanresourcesandtheirrelationshipswithotherrelated
conceptsfoundintheHRDliteratureleadstotheanswertotheresearch
question:HRDisnottodevelopallhumanbeings,buttodevelopthosewhomeetallthecriteriasimultaneously.ThisconclusionchallengessomecurrentHRD
literatureandoffers
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thefollowingimplicationsforfutureHRDresearch
andtheorybuilding.
First,thepurposeofadefinition,especially
definitionsforadiscipline,istoestablishtheidentityandtheboundaryof
thefield,distinguishitfromotherrelatedfieldsandconfinetheresearchareaswithinafinitedomain.Fromaresearchperspective,thishelpsscholarsfocus
theresearchtarget
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onamanageablerealmandbuildrelevant
theory.Fromapracticeperspective,thishelppolicymakersandpractitionersto
developtargetedpoliciesandactivities.Thus,definitionsservethepurposeofunifyingscholars
andpractitionersunderoneumbrellaforexploring,investigatingandexchangingemergingissues,aswellascreatingnewknowledgeforthesubjectareaswithcommoninterest
andunderstanding.
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Second,theclarificationofhumanresource
appearstobemorecriticalthandevelopmentatpresenttimeinHRD
researchbecauseoftheconfusionintheliterature.Ifscholarsandpractitionerscan
agreeonthepropositionandthecriteria,thedebateanddevelopmentofHRDdefinitionwillatleastbefocusedwithinthedomainofhumanresources.
Infact,the
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termofdevelopmentcarriesdifferentconnotationsin
differentdisciplines.Forinstance,inthefieldofhumandevelopment,developmentis
definedas
aprocessofcompetencyattainmentandofself-differentiationin
thesenseofprogressivelydistinguishingoneselffromtheenvironmentandfromotherpeopleinordertocreateauniqueselfidentity.(Thomas2001,184)
Withoutreaching
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anagreementontheboundariesofhuman
resources,wemayneverbeabletoreachanagreeabledefinitionon
thedevelopmentcomponent.
Third,theanalysishasparticularimplicationstoHRD
nationalpolicystudies.ExistingstudiesonHRDnationalpoliciesmostlyequatededucationwithHRD(e.g.MorrisandSweeting1997).Althoughthetwotypesofpolicies
arerelated,they
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havedifferentfoci.Thelifespananalysisdemonstrated
thatHRDcoversalargerportionofindividuallivesthangeneraleducation
does,suggestingthatnationaleducation
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102G.G.WangandJ.Y.Sun
policiesonlyaffectthosecurrently,andpotentiallytobe,enrolled
intheformaleducationalsystem.HRDpolicy,ontheotherhand,addressesthe
overallworkforcequalityandperformance.ThedifferencesbetweennationalHRDpolicyandeducationalpolicyisthattheformerfocusesonthequalityofskilllevel
forexistingnational
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workforceforimmediate,short-termandlong-termeconomic
growth,whilethelatterdealswithalong-termeffect.Theroleof
HRDnationalpoliciesistoprovidesupport,motivationandopportunitiesfororganizationto
energizeanddeveloptheirtalentsbymobilizingresourcesandprovidingneededsocio-politicalenvironmentforsuchactivities(WangandSwanson2008a,b).Clarifyingtheboundariesof
HRDallowsHRD
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scholarstoconductanalysisonHRD-focusednational
policiesandproposerightpolicyrecommendationstopolicy-makersatnationallevel.
Lastly,butnottheleast,theanalysis,throughthepropositionandthe
lifespananalysis,supportsthecurrentlyacceptedpropositionthateconomics,psychologyandsystemtheoryconstitutefoundationsofHRD.Thefindingsleadtoquestioningthepropositionthat
adultlearningtheory
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shouldalsobeconsideredafoundationof
HRD(Yang2004).Asanapplicationofpsychologicaltheories,adultlearningtheory
shouldbelogicallyconsideredpartofthepsychologicalfoundation(Weinberger1998).Accordingto
thelifespanview,itappearsredundanttoseparateadultlearningtheoryfrompsychologyasadifferenttheoreticalfoundationofHRD.
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