Communities of Practice and Situated Learning: A Theoretical Examination of a Shift in Individual Power

This manuscript describes a new theory of empowerment in the workplace. Unlike typical management literature dealing with empowerment, this theory uses a critical perspective to explain how communities of practice generate authentic empowerment at work. Authentic empowerment leads to higher performance, innovation, creativity, and success

Another Look at a Historical Foundation of HRD: F.R. Roethlisberger’s Foreman

F.R. Roethlisberger has been recognized as the ”father” of the human relations period of management. Historically, this period was seen as a move towards more humanism in the workplace. This manuscript presents a poststructural analysis of a classic management text from this period. Findings and implications for HRD are presented

The Women and Leadership Theory Think Tank Report 2015

On July 26–28, 2015, at George Washington University, 25 senior scholars from multiple disciplines gathered to attend a path-breaking event on women and leadership theory. The event, named The Women and Leadership Theory Think Tank (hereafter “Think Tank”), was a part of a targeted and comprehensive effort to “move the needle” forward on women and leadership theory. Beginning in 2013, Drs. Susan R. Madsen and Julia Storberg-Walker (with others) designed and delivered a series of related events, and women from all over the world have participated. The Think Tank was one strategy to scale up the impact on women and leadership theory and leverage the combined knowledge and experience of 25 senior women scholars

Tracing HRD’s Rational Masculine Roots: Feminist Alternatives for a More Mindful HRD

A classic management text was deconstructed using postmodern methods to illuminate the connections between knowledge and gender. A similar analysis was performed on a selected contemporary HRD course text in order to examine how issues related to performance and gender were being addressed

Towards a Theory of Collaborative Learning at Adult Learning Events: A Grounded Study

This roundtable focuses on the work-in-progress of building grounded theory. Specifically, the researchers will describe the context, the research project, and the iterative, collaborative theory building developments that have been in process over the past 27 months. Critique is sought from a variety of perspectives, including feminist, critical race, and other theories

Developing a tradition of scholarship : the emergence and evolution of the AHRD-sponsored journals

The Problem Research and theory are the lifeblood of academic disciplines along with the peer-reviewed journals that disseminate such scholarship. Journals become critical repositories that capture the histories and evolution of such disciplines, and their scholarly contributions generate new knowledge that can stimulate further research and improve practice. The Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) sponsors four peer-reviewed journals that have contributed to the birth and evolution of the discipline of human resource development (HRD). Yet, little is known about how they came into being, how they have evolved, and what their impact has been within the field of HRD. The Solution This article captures the histories of the emergence and evolution of the four refereed journals sponsored by the AHRD through the unique voices of current and recent past editors of these journals. It then considers common themes of scholarship across the four journals that have helped to shape HRD. The Stakeholders Students, researchers, and scholar-practitioners in the field of HRD and related fields who are interested in learning more about the histories of the journals sponsored by the AHRD, along with their contributions to the scholarship in HRD, will benefit from reading this article