Keywords
Citation
(2014), "2013 Awards for Excellence", European Journal of Training and Development, Vol. 38 No. 1/2. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-01-2014-001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2013 Awards for Excellence
Article Type: 2013 Awards for Excellence From: European Journal of Training and Development, Volume 38, Issue 1/2
The following article was selected for this year's Outstanding Paper Award for, European Journal of Training and Development
"Sustainability or limitless expansion: paradigm shift in HRD practice and teaching"
Alexandre Ardichvili
Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis,
Minnesota, USA
Purpose – This paper aims to discuss a shift from the mentality of limitless growth and expansion to the
new sustainability paradigm in HRD practice, and identifies what corresponding changes are needed in
human resource development (HRD) university programs.
Design/methodology/approach –The paper is based on a review of the literature in HRD and related
fields, and of curricula of a sample of HRD programs in the USA.
Findings – Five themes were found in the academic literature: critique of HRD’s fixation with performance
outcomes and lack of emphasis on developing sustainable and responsible members of society; role of
HRD in embedding sustainability in organizational cultures; training and development methods, aimed at
increasing sustainability awareness and at developing related skills; sustainable leadership and
leadership development; and interconnectedness of HRD, sustainability, corporate social responsibility
(CSR), and business ethics. Review of the contents of a sample of HRD graduate programs suggested
that these programs rarely incorporate sustainability-focused courses or course segments.
Research limitations/implications – Future research needs to conduct an in-depth review and analysis
of the existing HRD graduate coursework in a larger sample of HRD programs to determine the extent of
coverage of sustainability-related topics. In addition, a review of the literature from related fields (e.g.
business and management, HRM, and engineering), is needed to identify successful examples of
sustainability-related curricular innovations. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to conduct action
research-based studies of experimental development and implementation of courses and/or teaching
modules, focused on sustainability issues.
Practical implications – There are three main areas where changes in HRD curricula are needed:
economic foundations of HRD (to demonstrate the economic necessity of the paradigm change); systems
theory (to provide a solid understanding of the systemic nature of inter-relationships between the
economy, environment, and society); and self-leadership and individual moral development as related to
individual employees’ role in promoting sustainable organizations.
Originality/value – While there is some research on the role of HRD in organizational sustainability, this
article is the first to address issues of corresponding changes in HRD academic curricula.
Keywords Economic growth, Future of human resource development, Human resource development,
Human resource development curriculum, Organizations, Sustainability, Sustainable development,
Sustainable organizations
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/10.1108/03090591211280946
This article originally appeared in Volume 36 Number 9, 2012 European Journal of Training and Development
The following articles were selected for this year’s Highly Commended Award
"Employability and talent management: challenges for HRD practices"
Staffan Nilsson
Per-Erik Ellström
This article originally appeared in Volume 36 Number 1, 2012, European Journal of Training and Development
"Outsourcing HR services: the role of human resource intermediaries"
Henrik Kock
Andreas Wallo
Barbro Nilsson
Cecilia Höglund
This article originally appeared in Volume 36 Number 8, 2012, European Journal of Training and Development
"Managing polarity, paradox, and dilemma during leader transition"
Steven V. Manderscheid
Peter D. Freeman
This article originally appeared in Volume 36 Number 9, 2012, European Journal of Training and Development
Outstanding Reviewers
Dr Danielle Dimitrov
Dr Nicholas Clarke