15Th International Conference on Human Resource Development Theory and Practice Across Europe

15th International Conference on Human Resource Development Theory and Practice Across Europe

HRD: Reflecting Upon the Past, Shaping the Future

Dr. David McGuire

Conference Co-Chair

Dr. Thomas N. Garavan

Conference Co-Chair

Edinburgh Napier University Business School

Edinburgh, Scotland

4th – 6th June 2014

15th International Conference on Human Resource Development Theory and Practice Across Europe

HRD: Reflecting Upon the Past, Shaping the Future

Dr. David McGuire

Conference Co-Chair

Dr. Thomas N. Garavan

Conference Co-Chair

Edinburgh Napier University Business School

Edinburgh, Scotland

4th – 6th June 2014

HRD: Reflecting Upon the Past, Shaping the Future

First Published in Scotland in 2014 by:

Edinburgh Napier University Business School,

219 Colinton Road,

Edinburgh, EH14 1DJ,

Scotland

may be made without written permission of the editors

A copy of this book is available from the British Library

Paperback: 978-1-908225-01-6

The content of this book and CD-Rom does not necessarily reflect the position of neither the editors nor the editorial team, nor does it involve any responsibility on their part.

Welcome from the Conference Co-Chairs

Welcome to Edinburgh and the 15th International Conference on Human Resource Development Research and Practice across Europe.

We are delighted to welcome you all to our conference and our scholarly community focused on advancing the field of HRD through research. The theme of our conference this year is: HRD: Reflecting upon the past, Shaping the Future. Our conference brings together leading scholars and scholar-practitioners to discuss how the field of HRD has evolved and to consider future development trajectories. We considered that it was appropriate at this time to take stock and reflect upon our history, consider the lessons we have learned and reflect on how we are positioned to meet the multitude of contemporary challenges that will shape the future development of HRD.

HRD scholarship continues to thrive and make an impact within the wider field of HRM, Education and Organisational Behaviour. The spectrum of specialised journals devoted to the publication of research on HRD has resulted in a greater diversity of research topics, theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. It was until recently assumed that the majority of research within the field of HRD was informed by a positivist paradigm, however this is no longer the case. There is increasing evidence of the use of more diverse methodological approaches.

This conference provides an opportunity to propose new concepts, paradigms, theories and conceptual frameworks that represent the lifeblood of our field. They contribute to the development of new research questions and different ways of looking at existing questions. Increasingly the world within which HRD operates has become more complex and this changed world is a source of new questions that HRD researchers are challenged to address. These new challenges raise fundamental questions for example: What are the purposes of HRD in this changing world? Who are the clients of HRD and who should HRD serve? What are the most appropriate outcomes of HRD in this complex ever-changing world? The papers included in this conference seek to address many of these and other questions.

Our conference theme “Reflecting upon the Past, Shaping the Future” invites us to do a number of things:

To Re-Call: Bring to mind our knowledge and experiences of HRD and look at how these drive our behaviours
To Re-Visit: Examine our conceptions of HRD and question the assumptions and foundations underpinning these beliefs
To Re-Fresh: Discover new insights and perspectives on HRD to fit our 21st Century world

for it is often in the process of relearning, that we bring forth new theories, models and frameworks that will shape the future of HRD.

Our conference theme also reflects the host location of Edinburgh, a city that seamlessly fuses the atmospheric and historical; cobbled streets of the Old Town with the modern architecture of the New Town. It is a city stepped on both tradition and modernity. Our conference is designed to foster opportunities for knowledge sharing, discussion, fellowship, collaborative relationships and networking opportunities that are beneficial to the future development of HRD. We encourage you to take advantage of the many different types of sessions occurring over the three days and expand your understanding, build your networks and most important of all enjoy yourself.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has worked so hard to make this conference a success. Many people including Stream Chairs, reviewers, symposia chairs, and presenters made a significant contribution. We want to thank everyone for supporting the conference through their time and energy.

This is an exciting to be part of the HRD community. Our field of study has a vibrant and committed group of scholar and scholar-practitioners who will ensure the continued growth of our field of study.

Thank you very much for attending our conference.

Dr. David McGuire

Prof. Thomas N. Garavan

Conference Co-Chairs

Page

Keynote Speakers /

1

Stream 1. Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation /

3

Stream 2. Career Development and Diversity Issues /

Stream 3. Creativity, Innovation and Sustainability /

Stream 4. Critical, Social Justice and Ethical Issues in HRD /

Stream 5. Employee Engagement /

Stream 6. Global, Comparative & Cross Cultural Dimensions of HRD /

Stream 7. Knowledge Management and Learning Organisations /

Stream 8. Leadership, Management and Talent Development /

Stream 9. Organisational Change and Development /

Stream 10. Performance issues in HRD /

Stream 11. Scholarly Practitioner Research /

Stream 12. Strategic HRD /

Stream 13. Theory & Foundations of HRD /

Stream 14. Vocational Education and Training /

Stream 15. Virtual HRD, Technology & Distance Learning /

Stream 16. Workplace Learning, Training & Development /

Conference Posters /

Prof. Wendy E.A. Ruona, Dept. of Lifelong Education, Administration and Policy, University of Georgia, USA

Title of Keynote: Exploring Human Resource Development: Ideology, Identity & Culture

Wendy E. A. Ruona is an Associate Professor of Human Resource Development (HRD) at the University of Georgia (United States). Wendy’s work during the past 15 years has been devoted to developing (1) aligned organisational systems that are poised to achieve strategy, foster optimal organisational effectiveness, and be amazing places for employees to work and (2) the leaders needed to enable that. The key areas that she’s worked in include: strategic planning, alignment, and implementation in organisations, the system that support performance, talent management, organisation development and change, and building the HRD profession (foundations and what is required for strategic alignment and contribution). A key aspect of her research has explored core beliefs underlying the field of HRD, and that thread continues in her work concerned with the critical link between theory and HRD practice. Wendy has published over 50 articles, chapters, and papers and received numerous awards recognising her scholarship and service in HRD. Wendy served as the Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Developing Human Resources (2004-2007) and has been elected to the Board of Directors for the Academy of Human Resource Development four times during 2000-current.

Professor Eugene Sadler-Smith, Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, UK

Title of Keynote:Problems and Potential in HRD Research: A Design Science Perspective

Eugene Sadler-Smith is Professor of Organisational Behaviour in the Surrey Business School, University of Surrey, UK. He has a B.Sc. in geography from the University of Leeds and became a university lecturer in 1994. Prior to this he worked in the HRD function of British Gas plc. His Ph.D. (School of Education, University of Birmingham) was on cognitive styles. His research interests centre currently on the role of intuitive cognition in management and learning. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such asThe Academy of Management Executive,Academy of Management Learning and Education (AMLE),British Journal of Psychology,Business Ethics Quarterly, Human Resource Development International,Journal of Occupational & Organisational Psychology, Journal of Organisational Behaviour, Management Learning,Organisation Studies, etc.He is the author of a number of books includingInside Intuition(Routledge, 2008) andThe Intuitive Mind: Profiting from the power of your sixth sense(Wiley, 2010), he’s also joint Editor-in-Chief ofManagement Learningand on the advisory boards of a number of other journals includingAMLE,EJTD,HRDIandJME.

Prof. Jonathan Passmore, University of Evora, Portugal

Title of Keynote:Coaching Research: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Jonathan is a professor of psychology at the University of Evora, he holds five degrees and is a chartered psychologist. He has published widely with some 50 peer reviewed papers, a dozen books and twenty book chapters. He is the editor of the new Wiley Blackwell Series of books on organisational psychology and of the Association for Coaching series of coaching titles. He is a regular speaking at conferences across the world and has delivered over 100 conference papers at events from Harvard University to Jo’berg and Atlanta. He is the associate editor for a number of journals. In addition to his academic work he is the managing director of Embrion a psychology consulting company based in Scotland where his clients include Burberry, IKEA, HSBC and Technip.

Hazel Mackenzie, Head of the National Leadership Unit, NHS Scotland

Title of Keynote:Leadership Development in the Scottish NHS: Dancing on the Shifting Carpet

Hazel is an experienced coach, facilitator and developer with over 30 years of experience working in health. She has held a number of academic, managerial and clinical posts both in the UK and abroad. Her career has enabled the expression of her passion about supporting individuals to live life fully and to contribute to their maximum potential.For the last 15 years Hazel’s career has focussed on working with partners to build leadership capability and capacity in the NHS and across public services. Her work has ranged from supporting individuals and teams to working with whole systems and policy makers. While Head of Clinical Leadership at RCN Scotland, she established a range of leadership programmes including the RCN Clinical Leadership Programme. With the support of two government grants the programme was delivered across 80% of the Board areas in Scotland. In November 2004, Hazel was seconded to the then Scottish Executive Health Department as Programme Manager for Strategic Clinical Leadership. In this role she developed Delivering the Future, now in its ninth year. External evaluation of this programme has highlighted its significant contribution in preparing clinical leaders from across the clinical professions to step up to national and regional roles. In April 2006 she became Interim Head of Leadership focussing on the development and implementation of national leadership policy. In September 2009 she moved to establish the National Leadership Unit based in NHS Education for Scotland.

Hazel has published in a range of journals & textbooks, holds a great interest in areas of research, education, practice & leadership and has been active on a number of national committees. She holds a BSc and MSc from Edinburgh University and a Masters in Coaching and Mentoring Practice from Oxford Brookes University. In her spare time Hazel has provided respite foster care with Edinburgh City Council, completed two terms on the Children’s panel and a was formally a trustee of the Omaleshe charity, supporting vulnerable children in Namibia.

EFFECTIVE USE AND ASSESSMENT OF WEB-BASED COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

Lynne Booth, Michelle Blackburn, Simon Warwick

This paper discusses the group based assessment of a Level 4 (first year) undergraduate module ’People Management’ within a BA (Hons) Business and Human Resource Management (HRM) degree delivered at Sheffield Hallam University. The course includes a placement year between levels 5 and 6 where students work in organisations in a range of entry level roles. This is a module purposely developed following students feedback that they were insufficiently prepared to apply for and secure specialist HR placement opportunities. This paper evaluates the use of a Cloud-based wiki/portfolio tool (Google Sites) to help students develop a range of employability skills and HR content knowledge. Of specific consideration is the assessment design that enabled individual contribution to be assessed and measured while students gain group working experience. The context, design, delivery and evaluation of the learning and assessment strategy and its impact upon group work strategies and grading are discussed. The paper identifies an approach that seems to maximise the benefits of group work while clearly differentiating individual contribution, often seen as a challenge. In addition this approach also seems to minimise student concerns with social loafing. In conclusion recommendations are offered to academics considering the use of learning technology to mitigate some of the challenges presented by student group working.

PROPOSING THE USE OF Q-METHODOLOGY IN HRD RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Jennifer Stanigar

The purpose of this doctoral submission is to: (a) explore the use of Q-methodology in human resource development (HRD) research and practice through a limited review of the literature, and (b) identify implications for considering the use of Q-methodology in HRD research through a review of selected studies. Q-methodology is a research approach that is increasingly being used in social science research to better understand viewpoints, beliefs, and the subjective values of participants. A brief overview of the theoretical framework is presented, along with references for further study. A literature review was conducted using a keyword search of the four refereed journals published by the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD). The journals searched were Advances in Developing Human Resources, Human Resource Development International, Human Resource Development Quarterly, and Human Resource Development Review. A second source searched for this review includes 15 years of AHRD annual conference proceedings (2000-2014). The keywords were Q-methodology, Q-method, and Q-sort. Findings from the search of both sources returned one result for keyword ’Q-methodology’ and seven for keyword ’Q-sort’. No empirical studies were found that used Q-methodology as a research paradigm. The paper provides researchers with several implications to consider when contemplating the use of Q-methodology for HRD research. It is an efficient and effective way to conduct exploratory research, suitable for identifying clusters of viewpoints. This method allows participants to reflect and collaborate in the interpretation of factors through the use of post-sort surveys and participatory analysis approaches.

PLACING THE TRANSFER OF LEARNING AT THE HEART OF HRD PRACTICE

VivienneGriggs, Dianne McLaren, Barbara Nixon, Joanna Smith

Training evaluation is a key area of Human Resource Development; however, measuring the effectiveness of training and the transfer of learning from a training programme to the workplace can be a challenging activity. This is even more problematic for a training provider who does not have the continuous relationship or access to performance measures of an in-house training department. This paper reports on the evaluation of a training model, assessing the impact from introduction to completion of the cycle. There are three partners in this research project: the training company, the client organisation and the university researchers. Synaptic Change Ltd is a training consultancy delivering bespoke training to organisations. Utilising a case study approach, this project reports on the evaluation of their training model through its introduction at Connect Housing, a charitable housing and support provider. This presents an interesting context for the study as researchers have suggested the distinctive value led culture of the Voluntary Sector can support a strong learning culture within the organisation. The project seeks to assess the value of learning to the organisation derived from the introduction of the model. The paper explores theoretical and empirical research concerning the evaluation of training and discusses the context of the case study organisation. It then positions the methodology employed and how data will be collected. As a working paper, the findings are not available at this time but will be presented and discussed at the UFHRD conference.

RETURN ON INVESTMENT: CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, MOOC’S ARE NOT FREE

Marie Valentin, Fred Nafukho, Celestino Valentin Jr., Detra Johnson, John LeCounte

The primary purpose of this paper is to examine the financial implications of the providers of MOOC’s and to examine how and where financial gains are being felt. The research methods employed include a thorough review of literature published in refereed journals on MOOCs. The findings of the review of literature have revealed the profitability potential for platform providers, publishers, colleges and universities, as well as test taking centers. Findings also reveal implications as to actual costs for student participants and benefits that may be assumed from participating in learning through MOOCs.

DEVELOPMENT OF THEORETICAL-BASED MULTIDIMENSIONAL LEARNERS’ EVALUATION IN THAI HIGHER EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION

DawisaSritanyarat, ChirapraphaAkaraborworn

The main purpose of this study was to develop theoretical based multidimensional learners’ evaluation in Thai higher education adopting the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) as a case study. Data was collected by both qualitative and quantitative methods from instructors, officers, and students of NIDA. Constructs were developed by triangulating data from the systematic literature review, data from the qualitative data collection, and the Likert-scale survey. Patterson’s (in Holton and Lowe, 2007,) criterion for evaluating theory was used to evaluate the conceptual framework. Then, quantitative data was use of questionnaire to develop empirical indicators of the framework. The quantitative analysis was exploratory factor analysis. Cronbach’s alpha analysis was used to test internal reliability of the developed empirical indicators. This study proposed the concept for multidimensional learners’ evaluation which can be validated and adopted in higher education institutions to evaluate quality of teaching and learning, as well as a set of evaluation constructs for human resource management and development of higher institutions in Thailand.