Standards and standardization: the implications for HRD

This paper provides the first assessment of national and international standardization processes in Human Resource Development. Grounded in the standardization literature and making use of publicly available secondary sources and the practitioner literature it contributes an analysis of HRD standardization processes in USA, UK and South Africa undertaken since 2009. The analysis shows that standardization processes with implications for HRD are being driven by institutions and organizations independently of HRD scholars and practitioners and presents a wake-up call for HRD. The abstract examines the challenges and dilemmas posed by the standardization process from the perspective of HRD scholars, practitioners and educators.