Human resource development in the knowledge based and services driven economy An introduction

Author: Tomé, Eduardo

Publication info: Journal of European Industrial Training 35.6 (2011): 524-539.ProQuest document link

Abstract: Purpose - In July 2009 the Universidade Lusíada de Famalicão organized the InternationalConference on Managing Services in the Knowledge Economy 2009 (MSKE 2009).

http://clegi.fam.ulusiada.pt/MSKE2009/. MSKE 2009 was an interesting forum which gathered 60 specialistsfrom 20 countries in different areas such as knowledge management, intellectual capital, human resourcedevelopment, social policy, law and international economics. In the human resource development field, fiverelevant contributions were selected to compose the current issue. The purpose of this introductory paper is toreview the literature on the role of human resource development (HRD) in the current knowledge based andservices driven economy. Design/methodology/approach - The paper reviews the importance of knowledge as acrucial economic factor and the importance of services as the main area of economic business. It shows howHRD relates to services and knowledge. Findings - Starting at the time of the Agricultural Revolution whenhuman resources (HR) were marginally considered, the paper ends in the globalized and technologic advancedworld of 2010 in which HR are a decisive production factor and are analyzed by different very importantscientific perspectives. Crucially, in the present new order of the world, services are the main economic sectorin advanced countries. The important role of HRD as a factor of success in a world dominated by services andknowledge is explained. The major open questions and controversies related to HRD are enumerated.Research limitations/implications - Quite a number of open questions remain in the HRD field. Those questionsrelate to individuals, educational system, organizations, and to society as a whole. Those questions areanalyzed in detail in this introduction. The current special issue includes papers dealing with five separate topicsrelated to the open questions: academic curricula needed for the service sector; role of universities andworkplace work-related arrangements of the educational system; intellectual capital management; careeradvancement; career aspirations. Originality/value - The paper introduces the special issue of the Journal ofEuropean Industrial Training on \"HRD in the knowledge based and services driven economy\". [PUBLICATIONABSTRACT]

Links: Find It at Forsyth

Full text: Human Resource Development in the knowledge based and services driven economy Edited by Eduardo Tomé Introduction

In July 2009 the Universidade Lusíada de Famalicão organized the International Conference on ManagingServices in the Knowledge Economy 2009 (MSKE 2009) (http://clegi.fam.ulusiada.pt/MSKE2009/). MSKE 2009was a multidisciplinar forum, which gathered 60 participants, from 20 countries, specialized in different areas,such as knowledge management, intellectual capital, human resource development (HRD), internationaleconomics and social policy. In the HRD field, several relevant studies were presented and five of them wereselected to be included in the current issue of the Journal of European Industrial Training .

This introduction aims to underline the social context and the theoretical concepts that could contribute to theunderstanding the role of HRD in a knowledge driven and service based economy. Accordingly, the paperbegins with the definition of the main concepts used in it, namely, HRD, HR, knowledge and services aredescribed. After, the existence of several scientific approaches to analyze HR is explained. Furthermore, theemergency of the knowledge economy in which services are the main economic activity is discussed, and aparallel is drawn with the evolution of the theoretical analysis on HR. Following which, we indicate the main

controversies, and the open questions than in our opinion are still to be solved in the HRD field. Then, asummary of the papers selected for the present issue is given. Finally, we conclude by emphasizing how thisissue contributes to the understanding of the role of HRD in a knowledge driven and services based economy. Conceptual issues

Human Resources (HR) are usually described as all the characteristics of Humans that may generate aneconomic return. Those characteristics relate to formal aspects (like formal education, training, age), but also, toless formal elements (like competences, skills, experience, career, talent, motivation, persistence, health, oreven beauty). Today few will put in doubt the importance of HR as an important economic factor.

Human resource development (HRD) is the activity by which HR are improved. HRD has been analyzed ashaving the following four interrelated functions: Organization development (OD). Career development (CD). Training and development (T&D).

Performance improvement (PI) ([30] McGuire and Cseh, 2006; [55] Wang and McLean, 2007; [1] Abdullah,2009).

Knowledge is defined as \"understood information\knowledge workers and organizations are those, which use knowledge intensively.

In basic economics, services tend to be differentiated from goods, as being essentially acts. Therefore, ateacher may use slides (which is a good) to give a lecture (which is a service). Also, services \"are a diversegroup of economic activities not directly associated with the manufacture of goods, mining, or agriculture\" ([32]OECD, 2000, p. 7). Therefore, as Dickson et al. say in their paper in this special issue: \"Services typicallyinvolve the provision of human value-add in the form of advice, managerial skill, training, intermediation, and thelike. Employees in service sector enterprises depend on their knowledge and social networks, as well as tools,to be productive and to continually generate value ([27] Maglio et al. , 2006). This creates a distinguishingfeature of service sector enterprises - the relatively high emphasis placed on intellectual capital, or 'intangibles,'in many business activities. While difficult to measure, intangibles often hold the key to value creation in servicesector businesses\" ([32] OECD, 2000, p. 11).

Approaches to human resources in a knowledge based and services driven economy

Quite crucially, nowadays, the investments in intangible assets are analyzed in the scientific world by at least sixvery different and important perspectives. These perspectives are: Social policy. HR economics.

Management and accountability. HRD science. Intellectual capital. Knowledge management.

These six perspectives are summarized in Table I [Figure omitted. See Article Image.]. The important messageto extract from the Table I [Figure omitted. See Article Image.] is that in today's knowledge based and servicesdriven economy, a considerable amount of work exists on the main production factor, that is intangibles.Furthermore, HRD is only one of the several existing and possible approaches. Given that, each approach infact complements the other, and the multiplicity of perspectives is the main cause behind the existence of aforum, like MSKE.

The emergence of a knowledge based and services driven economy and HRD

When Adam Smith wrote The Wealth of Nations (1776), agriculture was the main economic sector, industry wasmarginal and the services sector was virtually non-existent in the economy. Smith mentioned skills and trainingas a factor of economic prosperity and growth, but its application was essentially perceived in industry, as a

factor of productivity ([33] Paul, 1989). When 100 years later Karl Marx wrote The Capital , industry was alreadyan important economic sector; in fact, in last decades of the nineteenth century the industrial sector was thedriving force of the most developed countries. Marx thought that skills would liberate the workers from capitalistslavery, and defended the importance of HR and HRD in companies and countries. Other Classical economists,including Marshall ([33] Paul, 1989), Stuart Mill ([41] Shackleton, 1995) and Pigou ([45] Stevens, 1996), alsoemphasized the importance of qualifications in the economic life. When, in the beginning of the twentiethcentury, Frederick Taylor defined the \"scientific rules\" of organizing work ([47] Taylor, 1911) those rules weremeant to be applied to the industrial sector; the Fordism that followed, as an application of Taylor's ideas, wasessentially focused in the secondary sector. Even in such a \"mechanic\" setting, the \"human face\" oforganizations was also underlined, mostly by the Human Relations School ([28] Mayo, 1933).

Nowadays it is well known that the increase in gross domestic product (GDP) per head in countries implies thesubstitution of agriculture by industry and later of industry by services as the main economic driver ([56] WorldBank, 2000, p. 52). Significantly, until the seventies of last century, the seminal writings that were made on thefield of Sociology of Labor (Joan Woodward, the Socio Technical School) were mostly based in the secondarysector. Even if some authors perceived in very early stages the change that was about to happen ([13] Drucker,1967; [51] Trist, 1972) the reality was still dominated by industries, and services were not the main cause ofconcern in the field of HRD.

The Human Capital Theory (HCT) explained the evolution of wages and employment as a function ofcompetences and skills, and could be applied to any economic sector ([9] Becker, 1993; [42] Schultz, 1961).But, for its success, a stable economic setting, was preferable. Therefore, the HCT worked better, as a successpredictor, in the stable third quarter of the twentieth century than in the turbulent first decade of the twenty-firstcentury.

When, in the 1980s and the 1990s of last century the organizations were confronted with the \"third industrialrevolution\Suddenly, the economic world was in a new and different \"Information Age\" in which knowledge became to beconsidered the main production factor. The optimal scale of production decreased, as services replacedindustry as the main sector of activity and the main employer. The economy became more and more diverse,and differentiation became to be the basic characteristic of the demand of goods and of the supply of labor.New goods and new production processes demand new competences, and more competences. With theadvent of internet \"Think global act local\" became the key for the successful businesses. The power shifted inthe organizations, as pyramids became more and more inverted. Not only bottom up approaches becamecommon and were considered as fundamental, but the need to use and benefit from an increasing number ofcompetent workers generated new management approaches, like communities of practices and quality circles. This societal change brought about very significant changes in the HRD scene. Those changes were linked withupgrading competences, managing change, the definition of core competences, the importance of knowledge,and the consideration of risk and uncertainty. Competences had to be upgraded; more and more qualifiedworkers were needed in different areas of specialization. Competences demanded intensively by the marketchanged and are still changing; this permanent change raised very problematic employability issues ([50] Tomé,2007). Competences were not anymore defined in technical terms, but, in a world dominated by services,relational and social issues became progressively more important. Knowledge, acquired scientific status, and itsorganizational value began to be defined in static and dynamic terms ([24] Kianto, 2007); therefore, thepossession, use, creation, sharing, and transfer of knowledge became also an important competence, and adecisive HRD question. All the previous questions were to be addressed in a context of uncertainty and risk: it isimpossible to predict what will be the competences needed in ten years time, and economic winners will have totake risks.

Controversies and open questions

In the context just described, some crucial questions remain open; they are linked with: Career aspiration and progress.

Universities and transition from school to work. Certification and intellectual capital.

Migrations, demographic change, and sustainability. Individual questions: career aspirations and progress

The easiest way to understand investments in HR is to see them as efforts made by the individuals in their owncareers. But, individuals are not equal. Career aspirations may differ by a number of factors, and the investmentone is ready to make differs on cognitive factors behavior, and, also on environmental factors (see the paper ofIsmail and Ramly in this issue). Furthermore, progress in careers may also be explained by factors such asperson inputs, and, also organizational factors (as discussed in the paper of Arokiasamy et al. in this issue). Educational questions: role of universities and work related arrangements

Even if the excess of skills and qualifications is certainly a problem for some workers, the fact that the serviceseconomy implies an increase in competences needed for the majority of the population, means that, in thefuture and worldwide, the number of students attending universities will grow. Therefore, the role of universitiesas providers of workers for the services sector is already significant, but will eventually increase. To understandwhat are the competences for the services sector that professionals should acquire in the university and howshould HR be included in the training of those professionals are two very specific, but important social questionsstudied by Dickson et al. in one of the papers included in this special issue. Furthermore, work relatedarrangements are needed in higher education to promote the school to work transition; those arrangementsshould themselves train students in the ability to transfer knowledge using social interaction and cognitiveintegration processes; Lappia analyses this important question in another paper of this special issue. Organizational questions: certification and IC reporting

Tacit knowledge, informal competences tend to exist when the formal system of education is weak, this beingusually the case of the less developed world countries. However, the internet increases the possibilities ofefficient self training. Therefore, when hiring formerly educated or non-educated employees companies face theproblem of defining the worker's competences. State organized certification processes are a way of solving thisproblem. But the central question is to define \"social competences\" as a reducer of uncertainty and a guaranteeof rights. Competence certification is a problem when the economy changes, and the demand for labor alsochanges. And competence certification, is a facet of the increased importance of intangibles, in the economy([8] Barbosa, 2009). Intellectual Capital reporting supports organizational management and also a way ofdefining strategies that might help HRD management. In fact, IC and HRD studies are two complementaryperspectives of examining and understanding the intangible investment by organizations (see the paper byPook in this special issue).

Macroeconomic questions: migrations and sustainability

Human migrations are as old as mankind, but in the globalized world migrations tend to be more important.Quite crucially, migration has deep personal, economic and social or even political consequences for the mover,the region of departure and the region of destination. HRD may help understanding the process of transfer, andthe process of adaptation that migrants incur. The analysis relate to the social presence of migrants, but also tothe case of multinational workers and to the organization of multinationals. As a consequence international HRDis nowadays an undisputed academic field. The problem of migrations has important consequences for theservice field, from both a demand and a supply point of view. Migrants demand services, and understandingmigrants is a way of improving services; but migrants are also suppliers of labor force to the service sector, andunderstanding the movement of the migrant is in itself a way of helping the economy ([11] Cardona-Rivera,2009).

Finally, sustainability emerged as a major scientific field since the Meadows report ([29] Meadows et al. , 1972).

Human resources are viewed as a factor that might potentiate sustainability not only because people may beeducated to oblige to sustainability, but also because humans are ultimately the fundamental production factor,and therefore to improve human skills is the best way to defend sustainability ([18] Gollan, 2005). In services,the sustainability question is more complex than in industry or agriculture because the production process hasin principle a smaller optimal scale that calls for a more detailed process of monitoring of sustainability. Also, therelationship between sustainability and human resources is more complex in services than in industry, becauseservices business face a more instable and local specific demand and because specific human resourceinvestment is the key to match that demand ([40] Sarmento and Durão, 2009). The contributions of the five papers included in the special issue

The special issue contains five papers that form a mosaic of the problems facing the HRD discipline in relationto the services sector. These problems are:

- the format of the university curricula and competences of service sector workers; - the relation between intellectual capital management and the management of services; - the building of work related arrangements for the service sector; - the career advancement of academics; and finally - career aspirations.

University curricula and HRD (paper of Dickson et al. )

Dickson et al. intend to identify critical components for service science curricula that address the uniquecompetency needs of the service sector. The expansion of the services sector globally has been

unprecedented. \"Some analysts predict that by 2020, services will account for 50 percent of world trade\" ([12]Downe et al. , 2008, p. 1). Furthermore, while the service sector accounts for most of the world's economicactivity \"it is the least studied and least understood part of the economy\" ([43] Spohrer and Maglio, 2009 p. 2). In this context, service science as an academic discipline or field of research is aimed at increasing theproductivity of the service sector, improving innovation in this sector, and devising methods to assessing thevalue of investments in services or improving them. The distinctive feature of the service sector (intellectualcapital as a driver of value) is recognized worldwide. Accordingly, Dickson et al. put forward two researchquestions serving as the basis for their paper:

Is an inter-disciplinary approach to service science-related education valuable in today's service economy? What role does HRD-focused content have in service science-related education?

[10] Bitner and Brown (2008) emphasized that successful service sector employees must be \"T-shaped\" in thatthey possess a depth of understanding in a particular field like culinary arts or accounting (the vertical part of theT) and also have a fundamental understanding of the other disciplines with which they must collaborate tosuccessfully perform complex interactions (the horizontal part of the T). In addition to this \"T-shaped\" knowledgebase, employees in the service economy need \"stronger communication and teamwork abilities than everbefore in order to succeed in complex, global organizations and network\" ([10] Bitner and Brown, 2008, p. 44). In order to answer the first question, Dickson, Noveski and Hamidi suggest that the design and delivery ofservices is a system of interrelated and interdependent parts that includes people, business and technology([46] Street, 2007). Therefore, professionals in service sector enterprises must have knowledge and skill in allthese three areas. The emerging service science discipline should bring together these three differentperspectives in order to span the boundaries between them ([19] Glushko, 2008, p. 25). In other words, \"T-shaped\" professionals are required to meet the distinctive demands of new jobs in the service sector, soacademic programs must focus on helping students to build technical competence in their discipline (verticalpart of the T) as well as business and people skills (horizontal part of the T) ([34] Poole, 2007). Researchundertaken by a variety of academic institutions and service sector businesses has pointed out to the need forthe three elements of curricular content: people, business, and technology. While the names of these threeelements vary slightly, the essence is the same. Four examples of this research are indicated in the paper.

In relation to the second question, Dickson, Noveski and Hamidi consider that people-related knowledge andskills are vital for professionals in the service sector. In fact, according to these authors, proponents of the \"T-shaped\" model for service sector education, including [10] Bitner and Brown (2008), have pointed out that inaddition to the \"T-shaped\" knowledge base, employees in the service economy need people-related skills. Thisimportance of people-related skills in the service sector is based on three factors: the need to improve employee productivity and innovation; the unique nature of work which has complex interactions; and the role of human/intellectual capital as a competitive differentiator.

More precisely, these authors consider that HRD-focused content in a service science curriculum can addressall the people-related needs and issues. In particular, HRD improves skills, when it is known that a lack of skillsis a major impediment for productivity and innovation. HRD should be used to develop \"complex interaction\"skills that are a feature of most service jobs. Service companies compete through the creation of a serviceculture that differentiates skills (([10] Bitner and Brown, 2008); this means that to become an \"employer ofchoice\" or a \"provider of choice\" it is required an improvement in the capabilities related to HRD. Dickson, Noveski and Hamidi conclude that HRD that practitioners must view organizational issues andopportunities from people, must use busines and technology lenses, and must apply an interdisciplinaryapproach to generating innovative solutions appropriate for the service sector. Intellectual capital management and HRD (paper of Pook)

In the context of the growing importance of Intangibles, Pook analyses the benefit of intellectual capitalmanagement (ICM) for addressing HR challenges suggesting participatory and ongoing ICM practices ashelpers to HRD. Pook claims that the literature on ICM and Strategic HR work has not been linked so far. Theoriginality and value of her paper is therefore to merge two distant academic worlds.

According to Pook, the current economic situation implies that HRD faces several challenges: empoweringemployees by involving them in strategic issues; making use of people's knowledge and experience; managingdemographic change; making the organisation attractive for (future) employees (employer branding); managingchange; intertwining organisational development and HR work; integrating HR in organisational measurementsystems and, thus, becoming an information base for decision-making.

Pook claims that ICM unlocks individual knowledge and experience for the organisation, contributes to make theorganisation more attractive as an employer ICM supports strategic thinking as an important part of leadershipand valuable employees as relevant knowledge holders. It also delivers feasible indicators for intangiblesuccess factors, and fosters organisational effectiveness and efficiency by aligning mental models andindividual action. It is well known that the benefits of using an ICR fall into two categories ([15] Elena et al. ,2008):

A management tool to help to develop and to allocate resources - to create strategy, prioritize challenges to thefirm's development, monitor the development of the firm's results, and thus facilitate decision-making (internalreporting function).

A communication device linking the institution to the world as a way to attract resources - financial, human andtechnological (external reporting function) and to foment relationships with partners and customers. But Pook advocates the extension of the existing ICR models to an ongoing cycle of continuous developmentthat would be extremely beneficial to HRD. The participatory approach for ICM implies: - creating a space for open communication;

- fostering open and multi-disciplinary debate in the environment of an organization with uneven powerdistribution;

- building a knowledge-sharing culture, thus opening individual knowledge for the organization and strategicdecision making; and - using diversity as an asset.

Even if Pook considers her contribution a starting point that triggers deeper analysis of specific questions andpossibly empirical studies, we think that it is a very valuable contribution to the debate about the multiplicity ofapproaches on HR in a knowledge and services-driven economy. Guidelines for work related arrangements (paper of Lappia)

Lappia studies design guidelines for work related learning arrangements. Lappia aims at producing guidelinesbased on insights from both practice and theory that will enable teachers and educational developers to executethe design, implementation and evaluation of their work-related learning arrangements with stakeholdersinvolved.

A work related learning arrangement is defined as an \"arranged\" learning process initiated by a practice drivenassignment within an authentic work environment in which a group of students is performing job tasks that arerelevant for their future jobs. In this context, the group accepts the responsibility to perform the tasks

adequately, the company is responsible for the quality of work assignments and the expert-novice support, andthe university takes the responsibility for the quality of the training taking part at the workplace and at theuniversity. Learning is defined as the conscious and unconscious (mental) activities by individuals, groups ororganisations that result in more or less permanent changes in knowledge, skills and perceptions, and inchanges in work processes, structures and cultures of groups and organisations. Learning can be triggered infour separate forms: By experience. By social interaction. By theory. By reflection.

Because universities are not able to teach students everything they will need to know for the rest of their lives,work related learning arrangements try to equip students with the ability to transfer, to use what they havelearned to solve new problems successfully or to learn quickly in new situations ([52] Tuomi-Gröhn andEngeström, 2007).

But according to Lappia, one problem exists: How can the quality of work related to learning be enhanced withinwork related to learning arrangements in order to form future knowledge workers that will have the ability totransfer? To investigate this problem three research questions are explored in Lappia's paper:

Which factors do influence the quality of work related learning arrangements and how do these factors influencework related learning by students?

How to design guidelines to influence the quality of work related learning by students?

How to measure the impact of work related learning of students in work related learning arrangements? In her paper, Lappia reports one explanatory design study for the first research question and one design-oriented research study for the second and third questions. Both case studies showed that to realize workrelated learning arrangements mutual understanding between stakeholders is needed to decide what has to belearned by the students and to create learning situations that have a high similarity with real working situations.The framework has similarities with the work of [23] Kessels (1993) when dividing the quality of training ininternal consistency and external consistency. Internal consistency means work related training arrangementsfacilitating the accumulation of knowledge acquisition; also, the learning environment, the learning activities, theteacher roles and the expert-novice support facilitate to obtain the necessary ability to transfer. Externalconsistency means that work related arrangements should ensure that what an individual student learns in hisor her learning group is consistent with the ideas that the participating learning organization holds on the centralthematic of the mentioned learning process.

Lappia concludes that as an answer to the first research question, the components of the spider web model([53] van den Akker, 2005) are important factors that influence the quality of a work related learningarrangement, as an intervention. These factors are the following: aims and objectives, content, learning

activities, teacher role, materials and resources, grouping, time, location and assessment. Therefore, Lappiaagrees with [54] van der Klink (1999) \"Despite all optimism, there is no strong evidence for the supremacy of theworkplace as a learning environment\".

As an answer to the second question Lappia finds six major guidelines to influence the quality of work relatedlearning by students:

Work related learning arrangements are context specific solutions.

Curricular components of spider web model are generalizable components of work related learningarrangements.

Comparing design as intended and design as perceived.

Measuring attained level of work related learning requires more levels of learning. Different outcomes on different forms of learning require different teaching instruction. Different added value of teacher roles as role models for students.

In relation to the third question, Lappia considers that when students are involved in work related learningarrangements in higher education, social interaction learning processes and cognitive integration learningprocesses have to be arranged, in order to facilitate students to learn constructively and to progressively re-contextualize knowledge, skills and attitudes. To measure the impact of work related learning of students it isimportant to distinguish between the process of consequential transition of internal acquisition learning

processes (which involves changes in the identity of the individual) and the expended learning between differentlevels (activity systems) of the social interaction learning processes. Lappia presents a dynamic framework,which forms a basis for an assessment tool in which both learning process are combined into a dynamic whole. To sum up Lappia concludes that work related learning arrangements are still rare in higher education, andpractical experience is generally only gained during short periods of internships. Therefore, even if Lappia findsthat learning by experience and social interaction, and learning by theory and reflection should be combined injoint work related learning arrangements to obtain the bigger impact on the ability to transfer, that transfer willnot immediately become common.

Career advancement for academics (paper of Arokiasamy et al. )

Arokiasamy, Ismail, Hamad and Othman examine the influence of individual and organizational variables oncareer advancement of academics in Malaysian private universities. The [57] World Bank (2008) refers to\"education and training\" as one of the four parameters in the knowledge economy index. In the context ofglobalization universities are considered to be a decisive investment in emerging countries like Malaysia. Thecountry needs to achieve 40 percent population with tertiary education by the year 2020. Furthermore, careeradvancement is believed to be one of the dominant factors for the growth of the academic profession and theuniversities ([2] Altbach, 2004; [3] Altbach and Knight, 2007). Arokiasamy and co-authors consider that HRD isimportant specifically to create better awareness amongst academics about their career planning andaspiration, and is also important for the role that organizational related factors have in their careers and howthey should response to the services given by the institutions.

From that notion, Arokiasamy and co-authors derive the basic departure question of their paper, that is: How doindividual and organizational factors contribute to career advancement of academics? The research is based onsocial cognitive career theory (SCCT) ([26] Lent et al. , 1994) which is derived from [7] Bandura's (1986)general social cognitive theory to further understand individuals' career interest, goals, and performance.Arokiasamy and co-authors extend the existing knowledge of career advancement with specific reference to theSCCT considering, as explanatory factors, the person inputs, the contextual influences, the outcome

expectation or the performance. In their study, person inputs are represented by individual variables; contextualinfluences are represented by organizational factors and outcome expectation. Career advancement was thedependent variable and is referred to the status that an academic achieves as a result of the activities toimprove one's own career; it is conceptualized to include objectives and a more comprehensive measure of

subjective career advancement, as suggested by [21] Heslin (2003).

A correlative study was conducted in 2008 in six private universities. Data were collected using a structuredself-administered questionnaire. Using stratified random sampling, a total of 105 full-time academics werechosen as the study respondents. They represented sampling criteria such as pure science and social sciencedisciplines, job positions and academic qualifications. Regression analysis showed that organizational variablesspecifically mentoring, social network and organizational support were the significant contributors of careeradvancement of the academics with 56.1 percent explanatory power.

These results are useful to human resource development (HRD); the personnel of the universities can use themas guides to plan and implement HRD initiatives.

Career aspirations for R&D professionals (paper of Ismail and Ramly)

Ismail and Ramly compare the influence of self-efficacy, organizational socialization and continuousimprovement (CI) practices on career aspirations of research and development (R&D) professionals in

government research institutes (GRIs) and multinational corporations (MNCs) in Malaysia. R&D professionals inthis study refer to a specific group of knowledge workers. As many emerging countries, Malaysia is trying tochange from a resource led economy, in which infrastructures were made to support companies using cheaplabour, to a knowledge based economy, in which technology and communication and knowledge are the mainassets. In the context of the country's change, it is foreseen that R&D will become an increasingly importantsector in Malaysia.

The career aspirations of Malaysian R&D professionals are still under-research phenomena that Ismail andRamly reported in their paper. Specifically, the paper addresses three research questions: Is there any difference between career aspirations of R&D professionals in GRIs and MNCs?

What is the relationship between self-efficacy, organizational socialization and continuous improvementpractices for career aspirations of R&D professionals in both types of organizations?

What factors contribute to the explanation of the variations of career aspirations of professionals in the twotypes of R&D organizations?

Their study is relevant because, according to the authors, HRD professionals are one of the most importantgroups developing the k-economy.

The social cognitive career theory (SCCT) was used as this paper's theoretical framework ([6] Bandura, 1978,[36] Rasheed and McWhirter, 2006). An empirical study was developed involving 164 respondents from GRIsand 120 respondents from MNCs in Malaysia. The descriptive statistics and inferential multiple linearregressions were used to analyse the data. Self-efficacy, organizational socialization and continuousimprovement practices were the independent variables while career aspiration of R&D professionals was thedependent variable.

Continuous improvement practices were found to have the strongest predictor values in both types of R&Dorganization with the value for multinationals being higher than the value for government research institutes.Self-efficacy was found to be the next important predictor of the respondents' career aspirations. Butorganizational socialization was not a good predictor of career aspirations. Self-efficacy and organizationalsocialization were found to differ significantly in terms of their levels, and CI practices and career aspirationswere not found significantly different among the two groups of respondents. Regression results showed MNCsreported higher explanatory power compared to that of the GRIs, in terms of the variance in career aspirations. Cognitive factors and behaviour were found to have more influence than environmental factors in the careeraspirations of HR professionals in Malaysia. In consequence, the authors suggest that Continuous Improvementpractices should be included in the existing model of social cognitive career theory ([26] Lent et al. , 1994). The study has several consequences for HRD: First, HRD practitioners need to organize the work practices ofR&D professionals by strengthening the quality improvement as a work procedure. Second, HRD practitionersmust understand why self-efficacy plays such an important role in the career decision of R&D professionals; this

would help companies and public bodies to formulate new career development programs. Third, future study isnecessary to deal with the influence of other variables, which account for the remaining 70 percent of thevariance on career aspirations. Fourth and finally, the authors consider that career adjustment issues exist inrelation to the phase of the careers, such as growth, stabilization and maintenance, that can be incorporated infuture research. Conclusion

HRD is a very important branch of science, and its evolution has accompanied the evolution of human society inthe last three centuries. Nowadays HRD faces the challenge of understanding and explaining HR investment ina knowledge economy in a globalized world, in which new powers emerge (namely the BRICs) and in whichservices are the driving force. Open questions and controversies exist, at micro, mezzo and macro levels. In thiscontext, the five papers include in this special issue represent a mosaic of the problems that HRD faces whenstudying the services sector. These problems are related to certification of competences, work relatedenvironments, intellectual capital, universities, career aspirations, career advancement, migrations, andsustainability. Even if these problems seem to be very dissimilar from one from another, they all have twosignificant characteristics in common: they are related to the situation of humans as scientific subjects inorganizational studies, they exist by need of improving the situation of humans in the organizations. Therefore,we believe that the present issue could represent an important contribution to the understanding of the economyin 2011. References

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Eduardo Tomé completed his PhD in Economics at the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão (ISEG), inLisbon in 2001, with a thesis on the European Social Fund in Portugal, as a factor of human resourcesinvestment. He teaches in the Universidade Lusíada de Famalicão, in the North of Portugal. He has published

20 papers in international peer-reviewed journals, in the areas of human resource development, knowledgemanagement, intellectual capital, and social policy. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal ofEuropean Industrial Training , of the Business Excellency Journal and of the Electronic Journal on KnowledgeManagement . He co-organized MSKE 2009 and is currently co-organizing MSKE 2011. He was the ProgramChair of ECKM 2010. Eduardo Tomé can be contacted at: eduardo.tome@clix.pt AuthorAffiliation

Eduardo Tomé, Department of Economics Universidade Lusíada de Famalicão, Famalicão, Portugal Illustration

Table I: Approaches to HR in the knowledge based and services driven economy

Subject: Human resource management; Employee development; Knowledge; Service industries;

Classification: 6200: Training & development; 8300: Service industries not elsewhere classified

Publication title: Journal of European Industrial Training Volume: 35 Issue: 6

Pages: 524-539

Publication year: 2011

Publication date: 2011 Year: 2011

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing, Limited

Place of publication: Bradford

Country of publication: United Kingdom

Publication subject: Business And Economics--Management

ISSN: 03090590

CODEN: JEITDP

Source type: Scholarly Journals

Language of publication: English

Document type: Feature

Document feature: Tables

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090591111150077

ProQuest document ID: 878727585

Document URL: http://search.proquest.com/docview/878727585?accountid=27424

Copyright: Copyright Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2011

Last updated: 2012-04-04

Database: ABI/INFORM Complete

Bibliography

Citation style: APA 6th - American Psychological Association, 6th Edition

Eduardo Tomé. (2011). Human resource development in the knowledge based and services driven economy.Journal of European Industrial Training, 35(6), 524-539. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03090591111150077

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