This article was downloaded by: ["Queen's University Libraries, Kingston"]On: 03 May 2013, At: 18:52Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Human Resource DevelopmentInternationalPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rhrd20

A review of the Seventh InternationalConference of the Academy of HRD(Asia Chapter) in Bangkok, Thailand(2008): a system theory perspectiveJudy A. Lee a , Brian A. Altman a & Mesut Akdere aa Human Resource Development Adult & Continuing EducationProgram, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Department ofAdministrative Leadership, Milwaukee, WI, 53211, USAPublished online: 16 Apr 2009.

To cite this article: Judy A. Lee , Brian A. Altman & Mesut Akdere (2009): A review of the SeventhInternational Conference of the Academy of HRD (Asia Chapter) in Bangkok, Thailand (2008): asystem theory perspective, Human Resource Development International, 12:2, 225-232

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13678860902764159

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.

The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representationthat the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of anyinstructions, formulae, and drug doses should be independently verified with primarysources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings,demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly orindirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

CONFERENCE REPORT

A review of the Seventh International Conference of the Academy of

HRD (Asia Chapter) in Bangkok, Thailand (2008): a system theory

perspective

Judy A. Lee*, Brian A. Altman and Mesut Akdere

Human Resource Development Adult & Continuing Education Program, University ofWisconsin-Milwaukee, Department of Administrative Leadership, Milwaukee, WI 53211, USA

This article will follow an open-system theory approach within the humanresource development (HRD) framework to provide a review of the SeventhInternational Conference of the Academy of HRD (Asia Chapter) in Bangkok,Thailand, 3–6 November 2008. From this vantage point, the paper considersthemes evident in the conference parallel session topics as inputs, the actualsessions and conference activities as processes, and the benefits the authors gainedfrom the conference as outputs. Each of these elements took place in anenvironment formed by the overall conference theme of ‘Ethics and Quality ofWorklife for Sustainable Development’. The article concludes with the authors’thoughts about implications for future conferences and research that can be seenas the feedback contribution in the open-system model.

Keywords: conference report; Asian HRD conference; Bangkok

Introduction

One common model frequently used in organizations is system theory, originallydeveloped as a natural science model. The model has been adapted and accepted inother fields of study since that time, one of which is human resource development(HRD). For the purpose of this discussion, the paper will focus on open-systemtheory, in which the environment has direct impact on organization functions. Onething that can be said of HRD is that at the research and theory development level,much of the work considers the external forces at work in a given situation(Cummings and Worley 2005). These external forces are crucial in addressing HRD’sfunction to achieve learning and performance in the organization. This conferencereview will be structured based on Swanson’s (1996) systems model of HRD shownin Figure 1.

The model illustrates the connections between the input, process and outputelements of a system, which is the lens through which the Seventh InternationalConference of the Academy of HRD (Asia Chapter) is being conceptualized. Asshown in Figure 1, the inputs enter the process element, which results in outputs.

*Corresponding author. Email: judyalee@uwm.edu

Human Resource Development International

Vol. 12, No. 2, April 2009, 225–232

ISSN 1367-8868 print/ISSN 1469-8374 online

� 2009 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/13678860902764159

http://www.informaworld.com

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

"Que

en's

Uni

vers

ity L

ibra

ries

, Kin

gsto

n"]

at 1

8:52

03

May

201

3

These outputs are connected back to the input and process elements via feedbackloops. An overview of the environmental forces now follows.

Environmental forces

From a systemic perspective, the overall conference theme of ‘Ethics and Quality ofWorklife for Sustainable Development’ provided a key aspect of the environment inwhich the conference took place. The theme offered an opportunity to address a widevariety of current and global issues related to HRD research and practice to allstakeholders involved. The following definition of Sustainable Development, fromthe World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), is most oftenreferenced: ‘Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable – to ensurethat it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs’ (Kates, Parris, and Leiserowitz 2005, 10).Kates, Parris, and Leiserowitz (2005, 19) further argued that ‘much of what isdescribed as sustainable development in practice are negotiations in which workablecompromises are found that address the environmental, economic, and humandevelopment objectives of competing interest groups.’ The authors agree that withthe all the rapid changes in these areas taking place in Asia, the conference themewas timely and appropriate.

Inputs

After reflecting on the parallel sessions, five general themes emerged as inputs of theconference. These themes also matched elements of sustainable development:organizational development; individual development; societal development; manage-ment; and HRD in an Asian context. In addition, although many presentations wereAsian focused, much of the research was global in nature and could be applied tomany organizations around the world.

Figure 1. Swanson’s (1996) systems model of HRD.Source: http://www.richardswanson.com/figuresandtools/SystemsModelofHRD.pdfReproduced with permission of Richard Swanson.

226 J.A. Lee et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

"Que

en's

Uni

vers

ity L

ibra

ries

, Kin

gsto

n"]

at 1

8:52

03

May

201

3

One thought immediately came to mind when these themes were being reviewed.This conference, like its sister conferences in Europe and the Americas, focused onorganizational, individual and societal themes as part of the overarching conferencestructure. Organizationally, one of the goals of all of the conferences is to increasemembership and active participation by all members of the AHRD. This was evidentin the diversity of the conference attendees and amount of participation by membersfrom several countries, particularly China, Korea, Malaysia, India and Thailand.Individual development is evident in the number of students who work side-by-sidewith scholars and professors to develop their skill sets and contributions to theorganization. Societal development is evident in the amount and variety of interestand research that benefit communities, organizations and individuals.

Organizational development

Organizational development was the input theme that was most represented in theparallel sessions. The theme of organizational development emerged from the sixsessions on the topics of organization effectiveness; human capital; organizationcommitment; informal needs assessment; social capital; and organizational devel-opment itself.

One particularly creative session was an interactive approach to an exploration ofthe idea of informal needs assessment, which was facilitated by Dr Catherine Sleezer.In this session, participants worked in small groups on different scenarios involvinginformal needs assessments. This interactive session presented a clear picture of theneed for research in the area of informal needs assessment.

Individual development

The second theme that emerged was that of individual development. The parallelsession topics that made up this theme were career development, work attitude,training effectiveness, and a session on individual development itself. One thoughtthat was reinforced at this conference was that training effectiveness is a process thatbegins with needs assessment and ends in evaluation.

For one of the authors, the session focusing on work attitude proved to beinformative and challenging at the same time. The session offered the opportunity tolearn about a variety of exciting ways to study work attitudes. With regard topresentations on the topics of spirituality by Pawinee Petchsawang and DennisDuchon, and humility by Hye-Seung Theresa Kang and Dr K. Peter Kuchinke, manyof the audience participants agreed from the material presented, that both spiritualityand humility had a positive influence on the workplace and HRD. The challengingpiece for many was in the difficulty in designing effective and practical data instruments.

Societal development

The third general input theme that emerged was diversity and societal development.This theme was evident in parallel sessions on cross-cultural HRD, corporate socialresponsibility, workforce diversity, and a panel facilitated by Dr AAhad Osman-Gani on cross-cultural perspectives in doing research in HRD. Several presentationsfocused on issues that affected expatriates. With the increase in globalization comesan increase in expatriates and cross-cultural issues. The authors chose to pair societal

Human Resource Development International 227

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

"Que

en's

Uni

vers

ity L

ibra

ries

, Kin

gsto

n"]

at 1

8:52

03

May

201

3

development with diversity in light of the fact that quite often societal developmentor responsibility happens between different groups of people or organizations, whichresults in cross-cultural experiences. Throughout the conference, evidence was foundof the importance of this in Asian culture from the keynotes, to the parallel sessions,to informal conversations.

Management

Management was the fourth general theme that emerged. The parallel sessions thatcomposed this theme included leadership development, knowledge management andperformance management. The diversity in presentation topics throughout theconference was evident here as well, as presenters drew on many different researchdomains to address these overall topic areas.

HRD in Asia

The theme of HRD in Asia was represented by a parallel session on the topic ofHRD in Asia and another on Asian HRD theory led by Dr K. Peter Kuchinke andDr Alexandre Ardichvili. It is important to note that very little of this conference was‘for Asia only’. Most of what was shared had implications for various cultures. Thisaligned with the authors’ general approach to the conference for two reasons. First,much of what happens in HRD happens with the hope that what is discovered can betransferred to other organizations and cultures. Second, AHRD conferences shouldbe seen as offering something for everyone regardless of location.

What should be clear is that while the specific research for many presentations atthe conference may have had an Asian flavour, these are universal topics of interestto HRD professionals in many environments and cultures. In looking back on thevarious presentations, there was clear evidence of HRD as an open-system. It wasclear that there was a direct give and take between themes and that HRD researchtopics are interdependent.

Processes

The process phase of the system theory within the HRD framework involvesproposing, creating and implementing which would all lead to outputs in theorganization. Considering the Seventh International Conference of the Academy ofHRD Asia Chapter from this perspective, the authors will share their experiences ofthe process for this unique conference opportunity. In this conference experience inBangkok, they found themselves grappling with the challenge of too much to learnwith too little time. The processes involved in the conference were: pre-conferenceworkshops, keynote addresses, parallel sessions and informal opportunities.

Pre-conference workshops

The first pre-conference workshop, on Monday 3 November, presented by Dr GaryMcLean was titled ‘Using Organization Development for Social, Community, andCorporate Social Responsibility Development’. The second workshop by DrNarayan Krishna Prabhu focused on ‘Human Values in Management’. This wasfollowed on Tuesday 4 November by two more pre-conference workshops. The first

228 J.A. Lee et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

"Que

en's

Uni

vers

ity L

ibra

ries

, Kin

gsto

n"]

at 1

8:52

03

May

201

3

by Dr T.V. Rao focused on organization development using the HRD Score Card2500. The final workshop presented by Dr Michael Arquardt focused on actionlearning for such applications as ‘Developing Leaders, Solving Problems, BuildingTeams, and Transforming Organizations’.

Keynote addresses

The conference theme was ‘Ethics and Quality of Worklife for SustainableDevelopment’. The conference included three keynote addresses around the topicof the conference theme. The first keynote address by Mr Chanin Vongkusolkit wasabout corporate social responsibility and its role in sustainable development. Thiswas a good introduction to the overall conference theme, partly because the keynotespeech provided a different focus on corporate social responsibility in which the well-being of the entire society for the sustainability of the society is addressed. Thesecond keynote address by Dr Darlene Russ-Eft looked at HRD’s role forsustainable development. This was very crucial at a time when there is no finalagreement on the very definition of HRD. The final keynote address, by Dr PhraDharmakosajarn, on the other hand, brought a third dimension to the conferencetheme – spirituality. Spirituality, in this context, was connected strongly to ethics inthe workplace. While the primary topic was Buddhism, and helped those with alimited understanding to gain information, the thoughts presented were readilytransferable. The authors discussed amongst themselves how many people do, can orperhaps should incorporate their faith or worldview into their work life. This wasfound to be one of the best examples of a presentation having an Asian focus butbeing transferable to many other cultures. In conclusion, these three differentkeynote addresses certainly helped delegates gain a better perspective of theconference theme and its message for HRD scholars and practitioners.

Parallel sessions

While the pre-conference sessions allowed for detailed learning from subject matterexperts (SMEs) and the keynote addresses allowed for a larger audience to gainvaluable information, the heart of the conference was in the individual sessions andpresentations. It was exciting to find 20 parallel sessions covering a variety ofinterests both locally and globally.

The second level of process in the conference was parallel sessions designed toprovide a variety of themes discussed earlier in the paper. The parallel sessions defi-nitely aimed to ensure the presentation of a holistic view of the conference theme. It isbreathtaking to realize how much variety exists in the field of HRD, and how essentialit is to the very survival of the organization. The sessions were designed in a way toprovide the much-needed presenter-audience interaction to include the audience in thelearning process. As the audience learned from the presenters so did the presenters learnfrom the audience. The diverse topics sometimes led to conflicts as two parallel sessionswere scheduled at the same time and the authors wanted to attend both.

Informal learning opportunities

Another important process in the conference was the coffee breaks. The ambianceof the conference setting led to richness in conversations among conference

Human Resource Development International 229

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

"Que

en's

Uni

vers

ity L

ibra

ries

, Kin

gsto

n"]

at 1

8:52

03

May

201

3

participants. These informal opportunities are not only excellent venues for learningbut also great opportunities for networking. All ended up achieving some greatnetworking opportunities in the end. Furthermore, it was fascinating to be able toconnect with other HRD scholars around the world and talk about potential projectsand collaborations.

The conference concluded with a closing ceremony that included an awardspresentation and farewell party. It was another opportunity to see the rich culture ofThailand. The speakers during the ceremony often talked about Asia and HRD,which helped everyone to remind themselves of the setting they were in. The closingceremony was opened with a prayer to Buddha, an example of the ways in whichspirituality was infused throughout the conference. This illustrates an importantpoint in approaching HRD in the Asian context where spirituality is very often apart of the daily lives of individuals who bring this to their workplace.

In summary, it was all agreed that the process section of the conference was welldesigned and successfully executed. The environmental influencers, inputs andprocesses have been shared; the focus now is on the outputs and take-aways from allof these thoughts and processes.

Outputs

This section describes the outputs of the overall open-system model framework. Theoutputs of the Seventh International Conference of the Academy of HRD (AsiaChapter) in Bangkok, Thailand will be conceptualized in terms of what was takenaway from experiences as attendees at the conference.

The conference had awide range of valuable outputs, and three will be discussed here.First, each author added to his/her knowledge of HRD on two levels. On one level, thecontent of the individual conference presentations and keynotes added to knowledge ofHRD. On a broader level, as this was the authors’ first attendance at an Asian HRDconference, a greater appreciation was gained of the ways that scholars and practitionersfrom throughout Asia are approaching the authors’ field of study and practice.

At both levels, the authors also gained a sense of greater clarity of their own ideasand contexts. Listening to and engaging with the diversity of ideas that werepresented at the conference allowed them to revisit and refine their own ideas. Theirdiscussions, both at the conference and in the weeks afterward, focused not only onthe ideas presented at the conference, but also on their own ideas and how theyrelated in various ways to those that they were exposed to at the conference.

Second, those that presented papers at the conference received valuable feedbackand vibrant discussion related to their papers. Thanks to the conference organizersand the session chairs, the session timing allowed for questions and engageddiscussion regarding their papers. For one of the authors, the session timinghappened to afford a particularly extended and dynamic discussion of perspectiveson theoretical frameworks and conceptual definition.

Third, the authors had the opportunity to meet new colleagues in the HRDcommunity and reconnect with other colleagues whom they only see face-to-face atprofessional conferences. Particularly exciting was the opportunity to meet others in theHRD community from different parts of the world who share specific research interestswithin the field of HRD. There is an excitement in being approached by a colleague fromanother country who says that they are also interested in a topic of study, and thenhaving the opportunity to talk for a while and exchange business cards.

230 J.A. Lee et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

"Que

en's

Uni

vers

ity L

ibra

ries

, Kin

gsto

n"]

at 1

8:52

03

May

201

3

The conference format facilitated these kinds of connections between attendees in atleast two ways. First, the conference schedule included a number of informal refreshmentbreaks and receptions that allowed for networking and conversation. Second, as mostmeals were included in conference registration, attendees were inclined to dine in the hotelrestaurant. This allowed for serendipitous connections during meal breaks. Theseconnections added to the sense of the shared community of HRD scholars and practi-tioners that took place at the conference. For one of the authors, informal discussion atthe conference led to a uniquely valuable output, a possible dissertation idea!

Although the authors of this paper were in Bangkok for only a few days, theyappreciated the opportunity to experience Thailand and Thai culture. Theythoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn from their Thai hosts, and to tourBangkok before the conference opening. They felt extremely welcomed, from thestart of the conference to the closing ceremony. They felt that their presence, theirquestions and their perspectives were welcome and appreciated. For the entireexperience, they offer their sincere thanks to the conference hosts, to everyone whoworked so many hours to develop and organize the conference, and to all whoparticipated. They are grateful for the opportunity to go back to their worldsdifferent than when they left.

Implications/feedback

It is the authors’ sincere hope that while they will share their thoughts about futurework, you also will think of new frontiers to explore. First, while not specificallymentioned in detail during the conference, with growing interest in cultural andemotional intelligence, further research into the soft-skills of HRD and their role inorganizational, individual and social development would be of value. Second,scholars should take what is being done in other cultures and make it somethinguseful and practical to their own cultures. Third, the word should be spread that theAcademy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) and its partnering organiza-tions are phenomenal resources for practitioners and scholars to utilize for positivepersonal and organizational growth.

In order to review this conference, some attention should be paid to previousreviews and the implications and conclusions to measure the author’s ownorganizational development. They compared their findings and thoughts with the2006 conference review by Ismail et al. (2007). The authors’ focus was on what theypresented as future directions for the AHRD Asia conference. Ismail et al. (2007)found that conference evaluations suggested that future conferences address issues ofethics, diversity and gender, theory and macro issues affecting Asian HRD such aseconomic developments, international conflict and weather disasters. In addition,they noted some sub-topics such as globalization and HRD in personal goals. Asevident from this review of the conference, many of these suggestions and commentswere addressed during the 2008 conference. The title of the conference itself ‘Ethicsand Quality of Worklife for Sustainable Development’ showed that feedback iscritical for future growth.

Conclusion

The paper closes with a metaphor that occurred to one of the authors at theconference. Consider the field of HRD to be a tree. It is a very large tree, with roots

Human Resource Development International 231

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

"Que

en's

Uni

vers

ity L

ibra

ries

, Kin

gsto

n"]

at 1

8:52

03

May

201

3

all over the world. The trunk of the tree leads to branches growing at 360 degrees,branches in different directions that incorporate different areas of practice,theoretical frameworks, values, cultural contexts, tools, and the people that makeup the field. The tree is also growing, adding rings to the trunk and new leaves to thebranches. With each new ring, the tree grows stronger. The Seventh InternationalConference of the Academy of HRD (Asia Chapter) in Bangkok, Thailandrepresented not only a new growth ring to the tree that is the field of HRD, but alsoallowed attendees to see the tree from new angles, revealing more branches andleaves and new connections among them.

References

Cummings, T.G., and C.G. Worley. 2005. Organization development and change. 8th ed.Mason, OH: South-Western.

Ismail, M., A.M. Osman-Gani, S. Ahmad, S.E. Krauss, I.A. Ismail, and S.K. Hajaraih. 2007.Human resource development in Asia – thriving on dynamism and change: Reflectionsfrom 2006 Asian HRD conference. Human Resource Development International 10, no. 2:215–23.

Kates, R.W., T.M. Parris, and A.A. Leiserowitz. 2005. What is sustainable development?Goals, indicators, values, and practice. Environment: Science and Policy for SustainableDevelopment 47, no. 3: 8–21.

Swanson, R.A. 1996. Analysis for improving performance: Tools for diagnosing organizations &documenting workplace expertise. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler.

232 J.A. Lee et al.

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

"Que

en's

Uni

vers

ity L

ibra

ries

, Kin

gsto

n"]

at 1

8:52

03

May

201

3