reconstruction, this takes on a wider social importance. While international
organizations like the OECD, World Trade Organization, International Monetary
Fund, United Nations Development Program, and World Bank have continued to
promote free market ideas, they also note the importance for developing and
transition economies of state-led initiatives to develop human capital (UNDP 1990 ;
World Bank 1997 ). Many Asian economies have extensive national programs for
developing human capital, such as Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Malaysia,
the latter having introduced a Human Resource Development Act in 1992
(Ashton et al. 2002 ). In the Middle East, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and the United
Emirates all have national HRD programmes (UNDP 2003 ) and the ILO recently
helped draft a new employment and training plan for Bahrain. Similarly, as part of
its Programme of Reconstruction and Development, South Africa passed a Skills
Development Act in 1998.
In the UK, while all employees might receive training, development was in the
past only for managers and professionals, with the term ‘management develop-
ment’ appearing more often than development without the preWx. Hussey’s ( 1988 :
58 )deWnition of management development included not only education and
training but also ‘reading, job rotation, projects and other ways of trying to
bring in the dimension of learning by experience in a managed way.’ The Taylor
Report (IoM 1994 : 84 ) noted a widening in the concept, embracing ‘a wide range of
developmental activities... such as job rotation, project work, [and] self-managed
learning.’ Nowadays, the term ‘employee development’ normally covers all
employees, including managers, but management development illustrates the
diversity of activities involved (Winterton and Winterton 1999 ). Skill gaps and
shortages in key occupations like management were prioritized by the Skills Task
Force (STF 1998 ; Johnson and Winterton 1999 ), but policy emphasis moved to
lifelong learning to promote social progress and cohesion in line with the European
Commission White Paper (EC 1996 ),Teaching and Learning: Towards the Learning
Society. There is widespread evidence in all EU member states that adults who have
previously engaged in learning are far more likely to be current participants than
those who have not had, or taken up, such learning opportunities (McGivney
1999 ). Initiatives to counter this so-called ‘Matthias Principle’ (‘to those that hath
shall more be given’) are therefore to be welcomed but there is a risk that the new
Workforce Development agenda will marginalize management development and
managers have an important part in ensuring the development of others.
In the USA, development, like training, refers to all employees even though the
nature of training and development diVers with occupation. It is notable that HRD
as a distinct area emerged in the USA with the formation of the Academy of
Human Resource Development and writings distinguishing HRD from both
HRM and mainstream training and development (McLagan and Suhadolnik
1989 ). HRD emphasizes links with organizational strategy and performance,
individual development, organizational learning, and the maintenance of core
332 jonathan winterton