People, Technology, and Strategic Human Resource Development (SHRD)

Technology and people are present in all organizations. The struggle of comparing people to technology and respectfully integrating people and technology in the workplace has been a debate since the industrial revolution occurred in America (Swanson, 1982; Swanson & Torraco, 1994). Effectively managing and developing people and technology is essential to enhancing competitive advantage for organizations. Strategic Human Resource Development (SHRD) is a relatively new and evolving field. This chapter explores the extent to which SHRD has the potential to tackle the challenges of integrating and enhancing the relationship between people and technology in the workplace.