Introduction There is a growing body of literature on the emergence and growth of human resource development (HRD) and in particular HRD with a strategic focus. Part of this growth can be attributed to the popularization both of Porter's[1,2] notion of competitive advantage and of the excellence literature, (e.g. [3,4,5 ]). The former body of literature argues that an organization needs to identify the key elements of its value chain in order to achieve competitive advantage. …showed first 75 words of 4914 total…

…showed last 75 words of 4914 total…Technical Skills in Electronics, Policy Studies Institute, London, . Ross, K. (1993), "Training and evaluation in SMEs: manufacturing enterprises in the West Midlands ", Local Economy, Vol. 8 No.2 , . Department of Employment and Enterprise (1993), A Survey of Employers′ Training Practices, European Social Fund Programme, Evaluation Unit, Dublin , . Hallier, J., Glover, I. , Lyon P. (1993), The Ageism Taboo in Human Resource Management Research, University of Stirling School of Management, . Garavan, T. (1993), Training Practices in Sixteen Irish Companies, University of Limerick , .