This text seeks to establish the emerging role of HRD and to provide frameworks and guidelines for practitioners and students in a range of learning contexts. The text builds on the body of knowledge in the field, where appropriate, and provides new approaches to encompass the major themes impacting on individuals and organisations for the year 2000 and beyond.HR directors are playing an increasingly important role in developing learning and development processes in order to enhance the contribution of `knowledge workers' to the strategic development of an enterprise. To facilitate this requires an in depth knowledge of strategic decision making processes from which, in the past, HRD practitioners have been largely excluded.