Title of report: Same old, same old, challenging development practices for HR/HRD Professionals?

Authors: Patricia Harrison (Liverpool John Moores University

Address: Liverpool John Moores University, John Foster Building, 98 Mount Pleasant, Liverpool, L3 5UX

Email address: p.a.harrison@ljmu.ac.uk

Stream: 3 - Critical, theoretical and methodological issues in HRD

Submission Type: Academic paper

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Same old, same old, challenging development practices for HR/HRD ‘Professionals’?

AbstractWhen Personnel Management changed to Human Resource Management a driving force was continued professionalization. This paper explores the professionalization of the HR/HRD profession and the development of its members. The paper reviews progress by identifying the hallmarks of a profession and comparing these to the HR/HRD profession. It then considers how the body of knowledge, a hallmark that is given centre stage in most theoretical constructions of a profession, is developed for the members. The main conclusion is that it is equivocal in terms of whether HR is a profession or occupational status group, primarily due to the difficulty in being able to fully apply the hallmarks. With regard to the development of knowledge the findings highlight the lack of organisation and control of essential practitioner knowledge, albeit an integral construct of all professions.

Key wordsProfessionalism, HR/HRD, Profession, Professional Development

IntroductionWhen Personnel Management changed to Human Resource Management a driving force was the its continued professionalization. This preference for professional status is not dissimilar to many occupations who wish to tap into the benefits of being perceived to be a profession, thus there has been a significant increase. One essential hallmark of a profession is knowledge. Professions are known for their esoteric (knowledge know by a few) rather than common knowledge (known by many). The greater the development and control of knowledge, the greater the presence and power of a profession. The aim of this paper is to explore the professionalization of the HR/HRD profession and the current development practices for novice HR/HRD professionals.

HR/HRD – Occupation or Profession?There has been a significant growth in occupations claiming to be professions and trying primarily to emulate the ‘ideal type’ original professions. Consequently, there has been an increase in the proportion of professionals in the UK (Gold et al., 2007) and Business Schools (Bennis and O'Toole, 2005). A key differentiator for any professions is that they must be able to apply their learning as emphasised in the following definition by Cheetham and Chivers (2005):-

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“…an occupation based upon specialised study, training or experience, the purpose of which is to apply skilled service or advice to others, or to provide technical, managerial or administrative services to, or within, organisations in return for a fee or salary.”

Nevertheless, this is one definition of many as there is a lack of agreement over the meaning of the term profession. The three earliest and most powerful professions are frequently emulated by others; however, this is not always possible or necessary. One method used to define a profession is the theory of ‘professionalization’. It is the process occupations move through to become a profession. Wilensky (1964) proposes that in order to become a profession that there is:

* a recognised need for a full-time occupation

* an establishment of training schools

* a number of willing practitioners to form a professional association

* political agitation to win legal support for restriction of entry

* formulation of a code of ethics

This approach is viewed by some as over-prescriptive, stereotypical and country-specific due to the inclusion of factors such as political agitation. Newer occupations may not meet these demands. Another view from Sociologists in the late 60’s is a functionalist theory of defining a profession that typically includes a list of commonly viewed characteristics or traits. Cheetham and Chivers (2005) produced a synthesis from a range of sources stating that generally a profession:-

is organised

is learned

is altruistic (orientated towards service, rather than profit)

offers autonomy

is self regulating

is client focused

has collective influence within society

However, not all of the above attributes are represented in all professions and some of the characteristics are questionable. Some professions desire power over clients (Freidson, 1970) or the desire to maximise financial rewards to gain status. Nevertheless, Starr (1982) concluding from the work of a number of sociologists, agreed that the characteristics ‘service’, rather than profit orientation, should be included in a definition of professions. Spencer (1896) devoted considerable space in his ‘Principles of Sociology’ to showing how various professions function to augment human life. The primary argument of professions is for relative freedom based on unique expertise, moral integrity, confidentiality and protection from

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political abuse. As a result members gained a higher social status linked to class-based notions of trustworthiness.

Hodson and Sullivan (2012:277) use the term semi-profession to describe occupational groups that demonstrate some characteristics of a profession and are, therefore, in the process of professionalization. Occupations that could qualify as semi professions include social workers, librarians and HR. According to Hodson and Sullivan (2012:260) professions are characterized by (1) Expert knowledge (defined as theoretical, practical and technique/application), (2) autonomy (decision making freedom) , (3) authority (in the use of a specialized knowledge base) and (4) altruism (demonstrated through helping others). They suggest that these hallmarks are then used to evaluate occupations who wish to become professions. All occupations have a body of knowledge but semi professions usually do not monopolize theirs nor do they have barriers to entry. Although semi professions have some discretion with clients, it is argued that the bureaucratic setting in which they frequently operate affords only partial autonomy. Many semi professions have codes of ethics and disciplinary rules enforced by the members of the professional associations. However, unlike the established professions their associations are less likely to be politically powerful. The semi professions’ associations are less powerful for fear of offending major employers or the more powerful professions. To make the process even more difficult in some semi-professions, several associations compete for the allegiance of the members. Nevertheless, many semi professions are accorded status and legitimacy. Some have considerable authority over clients, and most have some form of licensing or credential, but they still lack the autonomy and organized power of the professions. This results in a lack of collective power that is deemed by Hodson and Sullivan (2012) to be the single-most important difference between the semi professions and the professions. A possible criticism of Hodson and Sullivan’s (2012) work is that they have only four categories to describe a profession, making it too simplistic and thus, easier to make claims about occupations and professions. Also, as a result of using only four categories there are very few occupations who would meet the criteria to be classified as a profession.

A further integral dimension of professionalization is professionalism, a term that appears to be used widely, but frequently without full explanation (Solomon and Tresman, 1999). The emphasis is on values, however, like professions, it is understood to mean different things to different people. Therefore, there does not appear to be one clear definition (Elman et al., 2005, Sachs, 2001). Some focus on the attitudinal element (Hall, 1968, Kerr et al., 1977); moral nature (Durkheim, 1957) or service (Cervero et al, 1990). According to Swailes (2003) one of the most cited theorist is that of Hall’s (1968) who asserts professionalism is about understanding the individual member’s view of a profession. His work comprises five elements:-

Use of professional organisation as major referent Belief in public service Belief in self regulation A sense of calling (commitment to profession) Feeling of autonomy

Hall (1968) highlights the intrinsic nature of professionalism and how it is connected and influenced by the values of the individual and the profession (frequently outlined

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in codes of practice or conduct), underpinned by moral and ethical principles. Hall’s (1968) work has been criticised for not stating which element is more important than another, for possible bias in selecting what should be measured and problems in the ability to generalise from the data as they are culturally specific (Swailes, 2003). Stewart and Rigg (2011:298) however, who specifically considered the work of HR/HRD, highlight the moral and collective aspect, suggesting that HR professionals construct their ethical position based on personal and professional values:-

“observes a set of moral, or ethical, principles that promote collective rather than individual good’

The implicit emphasis in all of the above definitions of professionalism is a focus on the collective rather than individual good that membership of a profession affords. However, Cervero et al (1990:30) from their work in United States have a different view stating that professionalism “generally refers to the provision of expert, high quality service to consumers”. This definition appears to be much more client focussed. Implicit in this view of professionalism is the unique service to clients provided by professionals using their expert knowledge base. Cunningham and McLaughlin (1995) point out that because professionals are deemed to be service-orientated that this has been interpreted as being trustworthy, the suggestion being that inherent in professionalism is trust, a term generally regarded as an ethical issue. The professional is given legitimacy through the development of the client and professional relationship; so too is the professional body who seek to protect the status of the profession.

The focus on the collective and community interest is an important dimension but is a current issue for many professionals. In the teaching profession a term called ‘new professionalism’ is evident (Kostogriz, 2007). The suggestion is that this is, in part, due to shift from the Keynesian welfare state to Neo-liberal policies that are aligned to principles of market economy in line with that discussed earlier in this section. The provision of a profession is justified in order to maximise profits and privatisation of public services. Kostogriz (2007:24) argues that the market-driven discourse in education results in an emphasis on individual accountability and responsibility, “erasing the singularity of teachers”. The result being a move towards a managerial construction of professionalism where questions about wider socialist issues are not encouraged nor expected. One suggestion is that the power of some professionals have been curtailed through taking on management roles that use their professional status to follow bureaucratic rules and encourage others in the profession to do the same (Avis, 1996). This view highlights the difficulty of professionalization in bureaucratic structures as mentioned in the section on semi-professions. Brunnetto and Farr-Wharton (2004:587), agree and argue that one of the roles of ‘managerialism’ in the 1980s and 1990s has been to:

“curtail the autonomy of professional employees”

This can be viewed negatively as the professional is judged and driven by externally developed standards and performance measures (Bell et al., 2001). One of the possible reasons for a preference by an organisation towards an individual rather than collective approach, as offered by professionalism is that it has been found that professionals can be more committed to their profession than their organisation. Gouldner (1957:296) found a difference between what he termed cosmos and local

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employees. Cosmos employees he found were generally more committed to their profession than to their organisation. He used faculty members in his research and found that Cosmos showed:-

“less organisational loyalty than locals in that they would more readily leave Co-op College for another”.

In practice, some have argued that certain professional employees when faced with a dilemma that involves following managerial hierarchical decisions that clash with the values and beliefs of the profession have followed the latter (Parsons, 1983). However, Swailes (1993), using the view of Friedson (1970) that professional autonomy will be maintained only if the environment reinforces it, supports the view that management control could be deemed to be a threat to professionalism.

In relation to the HR profession concerning its status from occupation to profession, there have been few comprehensive studies. Most notably, therefore, is the recent work of Fanning (2011) who following an extensive literature review of fifteen authors on the work of professions, including HR, identified nine characteristics. She describes these characteristics (table 1) as desirable, not absolute prerequisites, suggest that a profession includes:-

Governing Body

Certification, Education & Training

Body of Knowledge

Code of Ethics & Discipline

Legal Status

Research

Independence

Contribution to Society

Recognition

Table 1: Fanning’s (2012) characteristics of a profession

Slightly unique in Fanning’s (2011) characteristics is the inclusion of research and recognition. However, on deeper analysis of the work ‘research’ and ‘recognition’ was highlighted by only two of the fifteen authors used in her research design and was not found in other work on professionalization. Therefore, the author decided that these dimensions would not be included in her summary.

Implicit in the research into professionalization (movement of occupation to profession) is the notion that a profession can be described and understood in order to exist. However, this notion is fraught with issues, particularly for the newer professions like HRM who some continue to describe as an occupation (Caldwell, 2003b). A summary of fifteen different theorists who have identified the characteristics of a profession (for example, Ulrich (1998); Cheetham and Chivers, 2005; Scultze, 2008) produced by Fanning (2011), other theorist and Hall’s (1968) elements of professionalism have been synthesized in order to analyse the extent to which HR can be deemed to be an occupation or profession (table 1). The hallmarks are defined as (1) Organised and recognized – does a professional body exist and is it recognized by the wider community; (2) Body of knowledge – the author has used

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Hodson and Sullivan’s (2012) definition that includes theoretical, practical and technical knowledge; (3) Altruism – the concern and practical help for others; (4) Authority – power and authority of clients and occupations through use of specialized knowledge; (5) Client focus – Clear focus on client needs; (6) Collective influence – practical influence at wider level in society and (7) Use of professional organization as major referent – degree of professionalism of individual and relationship with professional body. The criteria used by the author is (1) yes – to indicate that mainly the professional body does meet the requirements (2) no – mainly the professional does not meet the requirements and (3) partially – some evidence so not possible to state yes/no.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF PROFESSION

HR/HRD PROFESSION MEETS CRITERIA?

Organised and recognized

CIPD organise the HR profession Yes

Body of Knowledge Theoretical body of knowledge through PDS; however this is not compulsory to practice. Practical knowledge and technical knowledge largely developed in workplace.

Partially as theoretical knowledge and certification process but not all HR practitioners have the qualification. No for practical knowledge.

Altruism CIPD have code of ethics that includes concern for others. However, the conflicting nature of the work to satisfy both the employee and employer can make altruism challenging.

Yes criteria of code of ethics. Partially due to criticism of lack of altruism.

Autonomy Although self regulating, no legitimate power to ‘strike off’ members. No legal status. At times the HR practitioner is able to use their own judgement, however, due to nature of role and position within organisational setting this is not always possible.

Partially

Authority In specialized areas of HR practice there is authority over clients and other occupations.

Yes in many areas of specialized knowledge

Client focus HR has many clients, and, consequently retaining a client can be problematic. Evidence that currently greater client focus for senior management than employee.

Partially

Collective influence Due to the divided nature of the role, collective influence can be an issue. However, outcomes of CIPD research has wide-reaching consequences and is used by external bodies in decision making.

Partially

Use of professional organisation as major referent

Membership is not compulsory. Current influence of the ‘managerialist’ perspective and strategic emphasis questionable

Partially

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Table 2: HR/HRD Occupation or Profession?

From table 2 it can be seen that HR partially meet the requirements of the hallmarks of a profession. CIPD is recognized and provides an organisational structure as the HR/HRD professional body. Representatives from CIPD can be frequently found on national television and radio (for example, radio 4) providing informed opinion and contributing to debates related to employment. The result of this role in the media also means that outcomes of CIPD research have wide-reaching consequences, thus some collective influence. Much of the commentary from CIPD receives media attention, reaching the headlines at both national and regional newspaper and broadcast media (Askew, 2012). A distinguishing feature of professionals is their claim to a specific knowledge base (Larson, 1977). The CIPD aims to control the knowledge base through the Professional Qualification Scheme (PQS), the recognized route to CIPD membership. Although the PQS is not compulsory for practice it is the preferred approach and helpful for entry to the profession (CIPD, 2005). While findings from the IRS (2004) careers survey, suggested that 14% of the respondents felt that a lack of professional qualification in HR was a barrier to career progression. However, there are challenges to the knowledge base as HR as an academic subject appears in most undergraduate degrees and postgraduate management syllabus (Raelin, 1995) . In addition, the general and changing nature of HRM work makes some of the professional aspects difficult to meet (Francis and Keegan, 2006, Legge, 1995, Watson, 2004). Furthermore, HR/HRD work is often the responsibility of a number of individuals in an organization, frequently all management (Renwick, 2002). In a recent article in People Management, there was a call to become an ‘applied business discipline’ as opposed to an ‘applied people discipline’ as is now (Robinson, 2011:40). The suggestion is that HR/HRD practitioners need to ‘speak the language of businesses. This move would have implications in terms of the distinctiveness of the HR/HRD knowledge and contradict the goal of achieving professional status for HR/HRD as a profession, particularly as management is firmly placed in the category of occupation (Rousseau and Barends, 2011).

A separate issue of the HR profession and many other professions is the move away from what traditionally is known as altruism, the need to provide a public service and to serve others. In general for a number of professions there has been a move away from public service to profit that has resulted in a perceived general lack of respect (Gold et al., 2002). While this is a problem for many professions, it is possibly critical for a ‘people profession’ such as HR, and particularly noting the less than favourable external opinions of the profession (CIPD, 2005). Both autonomy and authority are difficult for HR/HRD practitioners as they do not operate completely independently, particularly with the devolvement of much management practice to line managers. For example, a decision about dismissal of an employee could include the HR manager, line manager, senior management, unions and possibly many others during the investigation process. The result is that it is difficult for HR to assert authority over the occupation of management, thus reducing their professional status. Also, there is an argument, that the current value of the HR/HRD knowledge base could be de-valued with the continued devolvement to line

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managers (Currie and Proctor, 2001). Furthermore, the move to a strategic role has added complexity. Although there are benefits to being more strategic as a profession, there are criticisms about the inconsistency of practice, training, development and support of line management (Legge, 1995; Caldwell, 2002; Francis & Keegan, 2006). One of the particular concerns is that the notion of strategy has been favoured at the expense of other traditional areas (Francis & Keegan, 2006).

In terms of the client base there is evidence that senior management appear to be more satisfied with the HR move to strategic with less enthusiasm from line management and employees. Certainly employees appeared to have fared the worst as they are the least preferred group for HR professionals. Therefore, it is possibly not surprising that longitudinal research from Hailey et al (2005) found that employees were feeling alienated and that their interests, at times, are being neglected as the HR Department is more inclined to side with management. This is an area which, according to Reddington and Williamson (2005) is under-researched. However, it is an integral element of professionalism with a focus on the values of the individual towards the profession. As professional membership is not compulsory to practice and with the dilution of knowledge to line managers it is imperative that those who do have membership are aligned.

This research would suggest that the evidence is equivocal in terms of whether HR is a profession or an occupational status group as supported by Caldwell (2003a). Although there is a plausible argument for HR being a semi-profession, the author feels that a greater depth of research into the term semi-professional is needed in order to justify this conclusion and as Bailey (2011) note the issue that few occupations would meet the full criteria of the ‘ideal’ professions. The general literature review has clearly raised continued questions about the validity of HR as a profession. In respect of the foci of this research, that is novice HR professionals; there appear to be particular pertinent issues. Firstly, the knowledge base is changing for this group with uncertainty about what is important. Novice HR professionals are most frequently employed at the front line dealing directly with employees and managers. Are they there to protect staff, protect management and/or support both? Who is their client and how best should they serve them? Their work is frequently of a transactional nature but this does not appear to be valued in the same way as strategic work. Is transactional work as valued as a knowledge base and, if it is not, what does that mean in terms of them as a professional? There is a lack of integration between the formal knowledge gained on the PQS and development of practice in the workplace. As novice HR professionals are the future of the HR profession, they are an important group and, to a certain degree, HR will only prosper as a profession with their future commitment and loyalty. The HR function clearly sits on the edge of a profession or occupational status group. The focus of this research is the development of notice HR/HRD Professionals. Now the HR/HRD Professional context has been explored the next section will focus on how knowledge is developed for this particular group.

Development of knowledge HR/HRD PractitionersProfessional development (PD) according to the CIPD (2007) is:-

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‘the conscious updating of professional knowledge, personal and professional competence throughout an indivdiual’s working life

However, although this is the definition developed and used by CIPD, as with the term ‘profession’ PD does not have a single definition thus resulting in ambiguity and different interpretations (Elman et al., 2005). From a development perspective, PD may relate to graduate placements; completing post doctoral degrees; beginning a career or CPD during a career. The focus of PD may be on competencies, skills, knowledge and attitudes, of which these will need refinement and continual appraisal. PD, according to Elman et al (2005:368) recognise that development incorporates experiences that go beyond ‘formal education and training’. However, this is not always the view in practice as it is relatively common for individuals to view professional education and preliminary experience as the ‘sum total of their professional development’ (Murphy et al., 2006). PD activities may occur formally, frequently in a structured classroom environment or informally, in the workplace. In practice, PD may reflect the outcome in terms of a qualification or meeting a professional membership level or through the attainment of career progression. One of the new processes as part of the recently introduced professional map that may help with the issue of career development for HR is that part of the upgrade process for novice HR professionals will be to submit evidence of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Nevertheless, a lack of organizational support for HR professional practice and career development is problematic as no profession can exist without the standardization of practices. Furthermore, frequently HR is practiced on an interpretive basis predicated on a number of variables too numerous to list (Pilenzo, 2009). Also although PD is recognised in the new professional map introduced by CIPD there is little advice or monitoring about how this is developed. Instead there are possible assumptions that any experience in HR is of value. Therefore, there is no guidance provided to managers of novice HR/HRD professionals on the PD scheme about the type and level of work, there is only guidance about what topics should be covered and a list of competencies. There is little information about how and why these have been selected and no guidance to the individual and manager on how to achieve these.

An internal method to assess the extent and value of PD and professionalism is by using evidence of HR practitioners’ career paths. One view is that the tenure of individuals in a work domain, combined with the extent of career progression for specialists, the more that domain can be classed as a profession. Lengthier service and the restriction of senior positions to those with training and experience support the view that the body of knowledge grows, and the sense of identity and distinctiveness increases (Brewster et al 2000). Research into the career paths of senior HR staff in the Fortune 100 companies found greater numbers of career HR professionals with 44 per cent who began their career in HR, compared with 31 per cent a decade ago (Cappelli, 2010). The findings show how there are more senior HR executives developing from HR and more commencing their careers in HR. Therefore, due to the evidence that there is a greater time being spent in HR this would indicate that HR is becoming more professional. Nevertheless, in recent research nine in ten HR professionals highlighted skills/capability gaps in their HR function. Pilenzo (2009) found, particularly in the USA, that HR professionals tended towards and a narrow and functional view of HR. As a result the competencies and qualifications reflect this focus on HR to the exclusion of other equally important business skills. This finding was also highlighted by Clarke (2010) in the UK who

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found that although operational experience outside the HR function was valued there was little evidence of this experience being encouraged. Therefore, one suggestion is the design of HR career paths should be broadened, and perhaps include a rotation through line operations. Although some companies, like Procter & Gamble, do this most are not and depend on colleges and universities and professional societies to produce the kind of HR executives they need.

Unfortunately, according to the CIPD report into careers there is a lack of planning for HR careers (2005). The suggestion from the study is that there should be more defined career planning but that this, in practice, is difficult. Furthermore, skill shortages in HR continue with the HR professional body commenting that profession should get their ‘house in order’ and ensure that the HR function has practitioners that are ‘fully engaged and effective’ (Robinson, 2011:40). In order to achieve this aim, it is necessary that both explicit and tacit knowledge are developed and that there is a clear HR career structure. According to Pickard (2008) this is particularly problematic for novice HR professionals, the subjects in this research, who are finding career development difficult in the ‘three-legged model’ of HR. A large scale research report on ‘managing and developing HR careers’, involving a survey of 1800 HR practitioners, criticised the change from transactional to strategic, particularly within a service centre approach. It, further, criticised the lack of attention to the career development of HR staff.

The literature is clear that both a recognized knowledge base and its practical application are integral to the professional. For example, professional advancement, according to Larson (1977) is clearly based on the fact that there is a clearly identifiable knowledge base that can be controlled but, equally, the professional must be able to apply what they have learned. Although the codifying of the body of knowledge for a profession is essential and has to a certain degree been developed by the HR profession, the certification process is in itself, of little value unless it is combined with standards of performance that govern the practice of HR. In reality, no true profession has one without the other and although HR has made considerable gains in this area, there is much more to be done. (Pilenzo, 2009). In general, for the newer professions, much of the development of explicit knowledge has taken place in Business Schools, where there is a focus on the scientific, not practitioner model, sought and gained by the traditional professions such as medicine and law (Bennis and O'Toole, 2005). However, the importance of the context of learning, that is, where the learning is being used is highlighted and for some the only appropriate context is the workplace (Vygotsky, 1962, Eraut, 2003, Nixon and Murr, 2006). Prominence is also given to tacit knowledge and reflection in the work of Schon (1983) in his work on professional practice, suggesting that it is more of artistry than an applied field. He stresses the importance of repeating practice in different contexts. This raises the importance of tacit knowledge, which is personal and private and generally difficult to make explicit but developed over time through practice (Gourlay, 2002, Dewey and Bentley, 1949, Sternberg and Wagner, 1986). Tacit knowledge is complex and there continues to be significant ongoing debate concerning whether tacit knowledge is an individual or collective trait and whether it is explicable or not (Gourlay, 2002). Moreover, the issue of knowledge sharing is an important tool in the development of professional practice.

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ConclusionThe traditional professions of law and medicine appear to have retained a balance of academic rigor and a practitioner focus in their development, for example with most teaching members of medical schools being practicing doctors (Bennis and O'Toole, 2005). However, in HR there are gaps in understanding and development of this essential practical knowledge, although the HR professional, once in employment, places greater emphasis on this (Gold et al., 2007, Eraut, 2003, CIPD, 2006b). There are also gaps in HR capability (CIPD, 2005). This gap in understanding is partially due to change to HR; shift to HE for the development of knowledge (evidenced by less apprenticeships and growth of Business Schools) with its limited recognition of importance of the practitioner role in the academic literature and role ambiguity caused by the changing nature of the roles in HR/HRD. There does not appear to be a strategy to develop HR/HRD practitioner skills and there also seems to be a lack of understanding about how to do this. The HR profession, having modelled itself on the traditional professions, has consequently developed an accepted body of knowledge and a system for certifying individuals. Nonetheless, the recognition and acceptance of what it means to be an ‘applied’ field, like the traditional professions of law and medicine, is lacking. If HR/HRD seek the autonomy and authority of the professions, it is imperative that the professional skills match the level of expert knowledge. One of the issues for the development of HR professional practice is that it is dependent upon management systems that are used for all types of training and development. Novice HR/HRD professionals are largely dependent upon the systems in the organisation and skills of their line manager, who may or may not be a member of the CIPD profession. This is because the guidance from the HR profession itself is about what should be learned and not how it is learned. Moreover, there is evidence that managers lack the skills to train others due to a number of factors including work pressure and lack of training and there is limited organizational support for informal learning opportunities, including knowledge sharing that help to develop professional practice (CIPD, 2007a).

After a thorough literature review the author has developed a conceptual framework to illustrate the imbalance in the current development practice of HR professionals, see figure 1. The hallmarks in the framework (discussed earlier) can be used to evaluate the professional status of the HR profession. The two primary types of knowledge are included (explicit and tacit). Both types of knowledge are essential to professional practice. However, the framework illustrates how in the development of HR/HRD professionals explicit knowledge is given priority over tacit knowledge. This is demonstrated through the scales being weighted more towards explicit, rather than tacit knowledge. However, the traditional professions of medicine and law have a balance between the two.

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Figure 3.2: Knowledge, professional practice and the ‘ideal’ professions

Professional Practice

-Involves both explicit and personal /tacit knowledge

-Development and use of professional judgement (Schon, 1983)

-Focus is on interaction and collective construction (Lave & Wenger, 1991)

Established Professions

- Body of knowledge , training and restricted entry (Wilensky, 1964; Friedson, 1973)

- Altruistic – orientated towards service, rather than profit

- Autonomy (Bayles, 1988; Carr, 2000) - Authority (Hodson and Sullivan, 2012) - Client relationships - Collective influence (Trowler and Turner, 2002) - Profession serves as referent group for professionals

(Hall, 1969; Gouldner, 1957)

Personal and tacit knowledge

-Involves application of explicit knowledge, intuition and tacit knowledge, therefore often partly observable (Gourlay, 2002)

-Often developed informally (Cheetham & Chivers, 2001)

-Developed with and through others (Roth, 1994; Vygotsky, 1962)

Explicit knowledge

-Creation and control of knowledge (Larson, 1977)

-Explicit, codified and articulated knowledge (Eraut, 2003)

Consequently, this research is suggesting that there is a need to have a greater balance between the explicit knowledge gained in education and the personal knowledge gained in the workplace. There is a need for the expert knowledge, including key analytical skills (developed through the HR Professional Map), however, just as important is practitioner skills/knowledge. The current system of largely utilising standard development practices that have been developed for all staff is promoting an adhoc, haphazard, informal approach to skills/career development for HR/HRD specialists. The aim of this research is to explore this

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issue in practice with the aim to redress the balance through a more formal approach. It is only through this that the HR/HRD professional will be able to achieve the autonomy, authority and trust in client relationships that are integral to being a professional.

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