Guest Scholars:

• Dr. Fotios Mitsakis (Nottingham Business School)

• Dr. William J. Rothwell (Penn State University).

• Dr. Lyle Yorks (Columbia University).

Topics Include:

• What do we mean by the term “HRD Strategy”, what other terms could be used in organizations to describe this work?

• How does the term “HRD Strategy” differ from the term “Strategic HRD”?

• What information would an HRD Strategy typically contain and what form would it take?

• How important is it that an HRD function has an HRD Strategy – what are the benefits and what are the potential consequences of not having an HRD Strategy?

• What advice do you have for how to build and maintain an HRD Strategy and how to align it with organizational and HR strategies?

• What are some of the biggest potential helpers and hinderers when it comes to building and implementing an HRD strategy?

Bios:

• Dr Fotios Mitsakis is a Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management/Organizational Behavior at Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University (NTU). Fotios is a research active academic in Human Resource Development (HRD), Strategic HRD, Training and Development, Career Development, Diversity Training, HRD in small firms, etc. Fotios serves as an Editorial Board member of the Human Resource Development Review (HRDR) Journal and Deputy Chair of the University Forum of Human Resource Development (UFHRD) Doctoral Symposium. Additionally, he is an active member of the UFHRD Research Development Committee. Fotios’ research has been published in several HRD-related journals.

• Dr. William J. Rothwell, Ph.D., DBA, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, RODC, FLMI, CPTD Fellow is Distinguished Professor of Workforce Education and Development on the University Park campus of Penn State University and also owns 5 small businesses. At Penn State he leads an online program in Organization Development and advises doctoral students specializing in Talent Development and Organization Development. He earned the ATD Distinguished Contribution Award, the OD Network Lifetime Achievement Award, the ISPI Thomas F. Gilbert Distinguished Achievement Award, and the AHRD 2004 Book of the Year Award. He has authored, coauthored, edited, or coedited 170 books and delivered over 1,600 professional talks in 15 nations. 

• Dr. Lyle Yorks is Professor Emeritus, Adult Learning & Leadership Program (ALL), Teachers College, Columbia University. He continues to teach his course on Strategy Development as an Organizational Learning Process on Zoom every spring for the ALL program and continues to be active in research projects. For the past two fall semesters Lyle has also taught this course for an Executive Master’s Degree program, D’Amore-McKim School of Business at Northeastern University. From 2016 to 2024 he served as a Distinguished Principal Research Fellow for The Conference Board. Prior to joining the faculty at Columbia, Lyle was Professor of Management and Chair of the Department of Business at Eastern Connecticut University. Early in his career he was Senior Vice President at Drake Beam Morin, a HR focused consulting firm.

How To Listen

The series is available via any major podcasting service, including the following (click on a name to listen and subscribe):

• Apple Podcast

• Google Podcast

• Spotify

• PlayerFM

• Podcast Addict

• Amazon Music

• Listen Notes

• Stitcher

About The Series:

For full details of the Human Resource Development Masterclass podcast, visit the AHRD website via the handy shortcut of: http://www.hrdmasterclass.com/

Sponsors:

Thomas Garavan and Michael Gaffney of Positive Career Options. Positive Career Options combine a multi-disciplinary team with academic and industry expertise to provide a unique and valuable insight into career options utilising fully validated psychometric tools combined with 1:1 feedback and coaching from qualified career coaches. Their five services include CV, interview, and assessment centre preparations as well as career coaching and a career options program. To find out more and obtain the career advice you need, visit them as https://positivecareeroptions.com/.

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