The Scope of Human Resource Development: Both an Academic Discipline and Professional Practice

The popularity of the acronym VUCA, (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity), reflects the contemporary challenges confronting organizations, functions, and groups within organizations, and individuals alike. “Lean Production,” “Leadership and Organizational Agility,” “The War for Talent,” “Era of the Employee,” and “Employee Engagement” are among many catch-all phrases commonly used by executives, consultants, and executive education faculty talking about the fluid context of today’s task environment. Driving these fluid changes has been the continuing and intensifying pace of innovation in digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI), with all parts of our world being hyper-connected while also presenting new political and security concerns in a simultaneously globalized yet segmented world. One consequence for organizations, their employees or members, and young people considering career options is the constantly changing needs for new skill sets and competencies, both real time and for the emerging future.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

1. Adult Learning and Leadership, Columbia University, Teachers College, New York, NY, USA Lyle Yorks
2. Executive Programs, The Conference Board, New York, NY, USA Amy Lui Abel
3. Global Technology, Bank of New York Mellon, New York, NY, USA Denise Rotatori

1. Lyle Yorks