fails or succeeds.

Webster University's dean of Human Resource Development stressed this yesterday in a speech to those at the Bermuda Employers' Council's special "learning opportunity'' luncheon.

Dr. Gary Kannenberg, who is also chairman of Webster's Human Resource Development's graduate programme and an independent consultant to many US businesses, said for too long employers considered human behaviour as something an individual was born with and which could not be changed.

Therefore, he said, if an employee did not do what was expected, the only course of action thought possible was dismissal.

But today, Dr. Kannenberg said, there is the realisation that people can be influenced by their environment -- either positively or negatively.

"The idea that human behaviour is important and needs to be looked at is becoming a very serious matter in big corporations in the US,'' he said.

"But we are very new in defining what human resource development is and what HRD professionals can do.'' Noting that companies will not hire "HRD people'' who cannot save or help make them money, Dr. Kannenberg stressed that proper human resource development was crucial in the work place. And he listed some of the educational competences that are and will become important in the training of "human resource development professionals''.

These, he said, included: Current knowledge of the HRD field -- where it is and where it is going; "Competent'' knowledge of human behaviour -- understanding why an employee is behaving the way he or she is; An understanding of how social issues impact the work place; and A comprehensive understanding of ethical and legal issues that directly impact HRD people.

"(Understanding) human behaviour is not simple,'' Dr. Kannenberg said, "but until we realise human behaviour affects organisational performance and the company's bottom line, companies will not have that competitive edge.'' Dr. Gary Kannenberg.