Handbook of Research Methods on Human Resource Development

Human resource development has become an essential component the development process. This is due to the fact that any development process is driven by the human factor. When the field of management science and organizational behavior was in its beginning, the HRD function was envisaged as a department whose sole role was to look after payroll and wage negotiation. This was in the era of the assembly line and manufacturing where the HRD function’s purpose was to check the attendance of the employees, process their pay and benefits and act as a mediator in disputes between the management and the workers. Concomitant with the rise of the services sector and the proliferation of technology and financial services companies, the role of the HRD function changed correspondingly. Today an increasing attention is being focused on the role of employee development through effective training thereby actualizing social and economic advancement of the nation. An HRM strategy pertains to the way as to the way to enforce the particular capabilities of HRM. An organization’s HR function may also own recruitment and selection regulations, disciplinary processes, reward/popularity regulations, an HR plan, or mastering and development guidelines, but all of these practical areas of HRM want to be aligned and correlated, so as to correspond with the overall business method. An HRM method for this reason is an overall plan, concerning the implementation of unique HRM practical areas. The business sector is often overlooked in human resource development researches, despite representing a large portion of the total economy. Development plans remain mostly unwritten, which can lead to the impression that development is not being implemented or planned and is therefore not valid.

Handbook of Research Methods on Human Resource Development discovers conceptual issues, qualitative research methods, quantitative research methods and methodological challenges. It employs the number of research experiences of leading HRD researchers to provide a range of insights highlighting what works, what does not work and associated challenges.