The Dilemma of Defining International Human Resource Development

From the beginning of the use of the term human resource development (HRD) to describe our field, there have been struggles over the meaning of the term and, even more broadly, of the field itself. In recent years, there has been increased attention to the question of the field’s definition, in general, as well as attention to the emerging field of national HRD. This article moves this exploration one more step toward an exploration of the dilemma of defining international and cross-national HRD. A beginning definition is offered, not as a definitive answer but to facilitate ongoing discussion in the dialogue on HRD definitions.