ABSTRACT
In this chapter we step into the Heraclitean world of becoming that I dis cussed in Chapter 2, and question the path we want to walk along in the knowledge that we will never get there. As boundaries become eroded so will HRD find itself facing issues that are about self and other; power and control; identity and ownership; inclusion and exclusion; agency and struc ture. Throughout this book I have asked questions of our becoming. In our understanding of HRD do we include the child labourer, the sex worker, the illegal alien, the abused and discriminated against? Do we include the selfemployed, the unemployed, voluntary workers, not-for-profit organisations, NGOs, or virtual organisations? What form of governance and leadership should the organisation adopt, and how is that supported by the HRD func tion? How does HRD strike a balance between the thrust for organisational growth (including year-on-year increase in profit) and notions of sustain ability and concomitant steady-state economy? At what stage does HRD become the mediator (and facilitator) of individual or global exploitation? Where does HRD stand on issues of cultural imperialism-particularly in relation to migrant workers or satellite organisations? How is information about employees managed-does the written information match that which ‘everyone knows’ through rumour, innuendo, and off-record discussions? How transparent are the organisational processes? To what extent are ethi cal codes really followed? What do we aspire to-for ourselves, our organ isations, and our societies?
