27/06/2014 UFHRD Conference 2014 Problems and Potential in HRD Research: A Design Science Perspective Eugene Sadler-Smith Surrey Business School University of Surrey [email protected] Problems & Potential Problem in HRD Research • Rigour & Relevance 1 27/06/2014 Rigour & Relevance of HRD “HRD is often criticised for being descriptive than prescriptive, oriented to specific case than general, more applied than theoretical, more serving advocacy than analysis.”(Marsick, 1990, HRDQ 1(1): 13) “Instead of filling the prescriptions of management witch doctors, HRD professionals should advocate theoretically sound practices…for the purpose of improving performance.” (Swanson, 1998, HRDI, 1(1): 7) “The aims … are often ambiguous and …differently perceived by different interested parties. Ambiguity over goals and lack of clear knowledge of how to achieve them and whether they are achieved are clearly closely related.” (Burgoyne & Singh, 1977, JEIT, 1(1): 17) Problems & Potential Problems in HRD Research • Rigour & Relevance Potential in HRD Research • Design Science (DS) 2 27/06/2014 Overview Defining Design Science Doing Design Science Design Science and HRD Defining Design Science 3 27/06/2014 Defining Design Science: Key Concepts Explanatory Sciences Design Sciences Field Problems Artefacts Herbert A. Simon 1916-2001 Nobel Laureate Economics 1978 4 27/06/2014 Explanatory Sciences vs. Design Sciences • develop knowledge to describe, explain and predict phenomena in natural/social world • develop actionable knowledge for designing solutions to real-world (field) problems Explanatory sciences Design sciences Van Aken (2005: 20) Explanatory Sciences & Design Sciences Explanatory sciences produce concepts/models/theories that describe natural objects/phenomena Design sciences apply/test/modify/extend existing theories through experience/intuition/creativity/craft to satisfy human purposes & solve field problems 5 27/06/2014 Actual & Potential Design Sciences Classical Design Sciences New kids on the block Candidate Design Science? • Engineering • Medicine • Education • Management • HRD HRD Research What are the field problems? 6 27/06/2014 Artefacts Artefact Relevance Purpose Field problem Artefacts, Interventions, Interfaces Inner environment of artefact itself (e.g. theories on which artefact’s design is based) Outer environment in which artefact operates (e.g. social context in which artefact expected to work) 7 27/06/2014 Artefacts Engineers • Airplanes, bridges, etc. Doctors • Surgery, medicines, etc. Teachers Managers • Classrooms, instructional materials, etc. • Procedures, products, teams, etc. HRD What Design Science Isn’t DS ≠ ‘Mode 2’ Research DS ≠ Applied Science DS ≠ Action Research Van Aken (2005: 22) 8 27/06/2014 Doing Design Science Doing Design Science: Key Concepts Design Propositions DS Logic Testing DS Logic Applying DS Logic 9 27/06/2014 Design Propositions* Logic of prescription • If you want to achieve outcome ‘O’ in context ‘C’ then use intervention type ‘I’ Context Intervention Outcome Sunny weather Use protective materials over eyes Avoid eye damage * Technological rules CIMO Logic Sunny weather Use protective materials over eyes Sunny weather Use protective materials over eyes Filter out harmful radiation ∵ it can damage retina Avoid eye damage Context Intervention Mechanism Outcome Avoid eye damage Denyer et al., (2008); Pawson & Tilley (1997) 10 27/06/2014 CIMO Logic Use protective materials over eyes Sunny weather Use protective materials over eyes Filter out harmful radiation ∵ it can damage retina Avoid eye damage Context Intervention Mechanism Outcome Intervention How to be a Great M anager in Mechanism 10 Easy Steps Outcome Context Grounded Sunny weather Avoid eye damage by A.N. Other Denyer et al., (2008); Pawson & Tilley (1997) Applying CIMO Logic Intervention1 Intervention2 Context Mechanisms Outcome Intervention3 Interventionn Denyer et al., (2008) 11 27/06/2014 Example of DPs for Scenario Planning Interventions in Top Management Teams Theory Design Proposition Five Factor Model of Personality To maintain effortful engagement in scenario generation and analysis select participants high in conscientiousness (McCrae & Costa, 1987) Theory Design Proposition Social Identity To reduce inter-group bias emphasize shared fate of scenario team and establish common goals (Gaertner et al., 1999) Theory Informational Diversity (Turner, 1985) Design Proposition To increase requisite forms of information processing select participants with greater intrapersonal functional diversity Hodgkinson & Healey (2008: 445) The Essence of the Design Problem “…often resides in predicting how an assemblage of components will behave” in the real world (Simon, 1996: 15) 12 27/06/2014 Testing CIMO Logic Context1 Context2 Intervention Generalisations Mechanism Outcome Design Science theories Context3 Discover contexts that produce success/ failure Contextn E.g. multiple case study (‘developing’/’extracting’), meta-analysis, systematic review, etc. Accumulate evidence of effective CIMO configurations Denyer et al., (2008); Hodgkinson & Healey (2008); Van Aken (2005) Testing CIMO Logic: Use of VLE in science education to promote complex inquiry skills School1 School2 VLE Inquiry based learning Complex inquiry skills School8 VLE based learning can teach complex inquiry as well as, or better than, traditional approaches Inquiry based learning in high school science education Field Problem Students’ learning of complex inquiry skills in science Method Trialled across 8 schools w. 2000 students Three iterations Ketelhut et al. (2010), see Anderson & Shattuck (2012) 13 27/06/2014 HRDR & Design Science Relevance Revisited “HRD research focuses on relatively narrow aspects of a topic, or fails to address issues currently vexing practitioners” (Gray et al., 2010, p.249) Impact* counts (20%) in UK’s Research Excellence Framework (REF) Design Science has been proposed as a solution to relevance problem in management research in UK/Europe Does DS offer potential for HRD research? *“An effect on, change or benefit to the economy, society, culture, public policy or services, health, the environment or quality of life, beyond academia” 14 27/06/2014 DS in HRD Research Advances in Developing Human Resources • Hamlin 2007 Human Resource Development International • Ardichvili 2012; Kuchinke 2013; Sadler-Smith 2014 Human Resource Development Quarterly • None found Human Resource Development Review • None found Journal of European Industrial Training • Lappia 2011 Summary ES prevailed over DS in management research because • view that mission of all research should be explanatory • explanatory science is the highway to publication/career advancement • in classic DS many researchers formerly practitioners (Van Aken, 2005) DS is one way for HRD research to address problem of ‘relevance’ • DS is more than ‘working with practitioners’ • DS is more than ‘publishing in practitioner journals’ • DS in HRD research is a major endeavour HRD research as DS entails • production of actionable, field-tested, generalizable knowledge • which practitioners can use to leverage individual/group/organizational learning • to solve the pressing field problems of our time & change situations from how they are now to how they ought to be (Sadler-Smith 2014: 130) 15 27/06/2014 Recommendations 1. HRD researchers consider the epistemological implications of a DS perspective for the future development of the field 2. HRD researchers, with practitioners, work to generate and implement design propositions (interventions) that address relevant field problems 3. Interventions are tested in multiple contexts in order to develop valid generalisations and build robust, rigorous and relevant theories of HRD Further Reading van Aken, J. E. 2005. “Management research as a design science: Articulating the research products of mode 2 knowledge production in management.” British Journal of Management, 16(1): 19-36. Denyer, D., D. Tranfield, and J.E. van Aken. 2008. “Developing design propositions through research synthesis.” Organization Studies, 29(3): 393-413. Sadler-Smith, E. 2014. “HRD research and design science: recasting interventions as artefacts.” Human Resource Development International, 17(2): 129-144. Simon, H.A. 1969/1996. The Sciences of the Artificial. Cambridge, MA.: MIT Press 16
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