Leadership development for undergraduate students at U.S. universities: The case for HRD research and practice^†

Abstract

The development of leaders and building of leadership capacity are central concerns of HRD research and practice, yet the large and high‐impact area of leadership education provided by U.S. universities to undergraduate students is missing from the domain literature. Over the past 20 years, leadership education has become a common feature at universities and colleges in the United States and is experiencing strong demand and institutional support. Leadership development operates in parallel to the traditional curriculum shaping the career trajectories of university graduates and adding to the talent pool of hiring organizations. This article outlines the status of university‐based leadership education in the United States, offers a critical assessment, and highlights areas in need of investigation and scholarship of relevance to HRD.

Adaptive performance and human resource development practitioners: Insights from successes and failures

“…Plus, companies recognize the saliency of adaptive skills in today's fast-changing environments. Given the scholarly and practical interests in how HRD practitioners are developed (Greer & Collins, 2017;Kuchinke, 2018), we advocate for attention to how EI, consulting, effective communication, and AT are integrated in the undergraduate and graduate curriculum and experiences. Similarly, the findings of this study can be integrated in the early career developmental experiences of the HRD practitioner.…”

“…HRD, as a practice, has been characterized as unleashing human expertise (Swanson & Holton, 2001), improving organizational effectiveness (Hamlin & Stewart, 2011), shaping values and beliefs, and skilling through learning (Wang et al, 2017). While much has been written about the curriculum (Greer & Collins, 2017;Kuchinke, 2002;Kuchinke et al, 2018;Lim & Rager, 2015), foundations (Callahan & Dávila, 2004;Carliner, 2012;Chalofsky, 2007;Kahnweiler, 2009;Torraco, 2005), and competencies (Lee, 2009;Van Ginkel et al, 2002) for HRD, published research is limited regarding what behaviors are necessary to promote AP in HRD practitioners (Park & Park, 2019). There is documented variability in which behaviors predict AP in different occupations (Pulakos et al, 2000); therefore, it is important to explore AP-promoting behaviors for HRD practitioners so that we can tailor their education and training (Park & Park, 2019).…”

Business ethics in China and Iceland—Contrasts and convergence

“…However, one potential design deficiency is that business ethics courses tend to illustrate ethical dilemmas on a theoretical level but fail to open a deeper discussion about them that can provide managers with the practical guidance for responsible action that they need (Wymer & Rundle-Thiele, 2017;Zingales, 2012). In fact, Shawver and Miller (2017) would require a continuous ethical education and training for graduates and professionals through seminars, workshops, and specific case studies, while Kuchinke, Ardichvili, Wocken, Seo, and Bovornusvakool (2018) argue that professionals need such postgraduate training, since their time as a student is insufficient to reach deep learning (see also Holland, 2009;Reynolds & Dang, 2017). Although Medeiros et al (2017) demonstrate that working professionals benefit even more from ethical training than undergraduate and graduate students, since professionals can draw on real-life experiences, those authors indicate that the ideal combination of theoretical education and professional training depends on the background and specific requirements of the audience.…”