Impact of Intellectual Capital and Social Capital on the Human Resource Performance in the Chemical Industries in Pakistan

An emerging knowledge economy creates major challenges for human resource development (HRD) in organisations. The purpose of this paper is to identify some of these challenges and explore their implications for HRD professionals. The paper takes the form of a literature review to contribute to the ongoing debate about HRD's changing role and tasks. Having set the organisational process of HRD in the context of a knowledge economy and of macro-level socio-economic policy, we explore notions of strategy, structure and knowledge and their implications for those with HRD responsibilities in organisations. We identify and discuss four major challenges that confront the HRD function, and conclude that a knowledge economy invites HRD professionals to play a crucial role in the transformation of organisations. As working, learning and knowing are closely related processes, HRD could become the integrating vehicle for generating human and social capital: primary driving forces in a knowledge society.