Human Resource Development (HRD) is a practice that combines training, organization development, and career development efforts to encourage improvement of individual, group, and organizational performance. Its purpose is to enhance employee performance/productivity, which leads to employee and customer satisfaction and an increase in the profitability of the organization.
Personal Development
Can be defined as the development of new knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) that enhance one’s current job performance. The attainment of these new KSA’s may be the result of formal and informal learning events, but most often informal, on-the-job, embedded learning is responsible. Personal development is a short-term path to enhancing performance, which results in a lower level of organizational enhancement.
Professional Development
Places its focus on the individual interests, values, and abilities needed to develop KSAs for future employment. Professional development can include both personal and organizational endeavors. Professional development is more long-term than personal development. It can have more of an impact on organizational efficiency because employees can take advantage of ongoing developmental opportunities.
Performance Administration
Or performance management is an approach used to improve organizational performance. Its goal is to assure that the right individuals have the KSAs that support their jobs both effectively and efficiently. Performance administration or management is used to analyze gaps in performance within the organization as a whole and identify interventions effective in bringing about the desired performance. Performance administraion or management is often used to bring about a short-term return on investment (ROI) needed by organizational leaders to demonstrate their personal leadership success.
Organization Development
Can be defined as recognizing, creating, and implementing a solution to an organization’s weaknesses in performance through team effort.The desired result is a shared enthusiastic attitude toward accomplishing new and existing circumstances or events. The organization’s weaknesses in performance may be contributed to a procedure that is ineffective. The recognition of this weakness may become apparent through constructive criticism received from clientele or through the inability to maintain competitiveness. The weakness, once identified, should be subjected to a company meeting to solicit ideas for its elimination/improvement.
Human Resource Development is comprised of four basic sections: personal development, professional development, performance administration or management, and organization development. Each section will differ in significance from one organization to the next. The significance of each section within an organization may depend upon the extent of the organization’s focus to improve human resources. Personal and professional development concentrate on the growth and development of the individual, while performance administration or management and organization development place their focus on a whole system approach to the effectiveness of the organization.