A HOLISTIC, BOUNDARY-LESS, AND CONTEXTUALLY ADAPTABLE

APPLIED HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (HRD) THEORETICAL MODEL: 

ADVANCING THE ONTOLOGICAL AND EPISTIMOLOGICAL LENSES FOR HRD THEORISTS AND PRACTITIONERS

THROUGH SOURCES FROM THE THEOLOGICAL SCIENCES

 

 

 

 

A dissertation PROPOSAL submitted

 

by

 

LAWRENCE E. GREEN

 

to

 

TRINITY THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

 

In partial fulfillment of

The requirements for the

Degree of

 

Doctor of Philosophy

in

HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

 

with an emphasis in

MANAGEMENT

 

 


 

 

TITLE PAGE

ABSTRACT

COPYRIGHT

I.          INTRODUCTION

            A.  Opening Remarks.

                        1.  A new HRD analogy.

                        2.  The need for new HRD lenses.

            B.  The Study to Be Conducted.

                        1.  A new, applied theoretical model of human behavior.

                        2.  A theologically based model for HRD.

            C.  The Value of Doing Such a Study.

                        1.  Readdressing the life-motivational aspect of man.

                        2.  A new set of HRD lenses for scholars and practitioners.                  

II.         STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

            A.  The Purpose of the Study – To create a new HRD model.  

            B.  The Research Question – Can a usable model be constructed?

            C.  The Subsidiary Questions.

                        1.  Question 1 - Focusing on the model.

                        2.  Question 2 - Focusing on usability.

                        3.  Question 3 - Focusing on syntax.

            D.  The Current State of Scholarship in HRD.

                        1.  An emerging discipline.

                        2.  Searching for a culture of inquiry.

                        3.  The need for applied theology to address HRD issues.

            E.  The Uniqueness of this Study.

                        1.  Timing of this research.

                        2.  A fresh approach to HRD.

III.       FOCUSED HRD LITERATURE REVIEW

            A.  HRD, HRM, and management review.

                        1.  Introduction.

                        2.  Delimitations.

                        3.  Review of HRD, HRM, and management scholarship.

                        3.  Summary.

            B.   Applied Theology Review.

                        1.  Introduction.

                        2.  Delimitations.

                        3.  Theology and applied theology scholarship.

                        4.  Summary of findings.

            C.  Old and New Testament Review.

                        1.  Question of authority.

                        2.  On the question of “man.”

                        3.  On the question of “God.”

                        4.  On the question of “image of God.”

            D.  Summary and Integration of Interdisciplinary Scholarship.

                        1.  Common areas.

                        2.  Gaps, biases, and syntax.

                        3.  Impact of current scholarship on the new HRD model.

IV.       RESEARCH DESIGN

            A.  Dubin’s Model for Theory Building in HRD (1969).

                        1.  Overcoming the “theoretical – empirical” divide.

                        2.  Similarities of theory and theology.

                        3.  Interdisciplinary research challenges.

                                    a. Limitations of social-science research.

                                    b. The Contiguous-Problem Approach.

                        4.  Dubin and external/internal reliability issues.

                        5.  Reasons for using Dubin’s Model of Theory Building.

                        6.  Elements of Dubin’s Model.

            B.   Author Bias and Delimitations.

                        1.  History of the development of the new HRD model.

                        2.  Rationale for starting point and chosen methodology.

                        3.  Secular vs. sacred research and scholarship issues.

                        4.  Dissertation Audience.

            C.   Theoretical Research Phase.

                        1.  Identifying units of the theory.

                        2.  Establishing the laws of interaction that govern the theory. 

                        3.  Determining the boundaries of the theory. 

                        4.  Specifying the system states of the theory. 

            D.  Empirical Research Phase.

                        1.  Specification of the propositions of the theory.

                        2.  Identifying empirical indicators of the theory. 

                        3.  Refining hypotheses to test the theory. 

                        4.  Testing the theory through a developed plan of research.

            E.  Glossary of Research Methodology Terms. 

V.        PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

            A.   Theoretical Research Phase Results.

                        1.  Units of the God-Man Paradigm (GMP) theory/model.

                                    a. Horizontal “man” dimension units.

                                                1)  Body.

                                                2)  Soul.

                                                3)  Spirit.

                                    b. Vertical “God” dimension units.

                                                1)  Father.

                                                2)  Son.

                                                3)  Holy Spirit.

                                    c. Resulting Nine “God-man” matrix units.

                                    d. Analysis of 5 dichotomies of characteristics.

                                    e. Analysis of combination limiting rules.

                                    f. Syntax variations.

                                    g. Summary of model units.

                        2.  God-Man Paradigm (GMP) governing laws of interaction. 

                                    a. Horizontal dimension laws.

                                    b. Vertical dimension laws.

                                    c. Diagonal and centric dimension laws.

                                    d. Laws of transformation.

                                    e. Summary of model laws.

                        3.  Determining the boundaries of the GMP. 

                                    a. Theory domains.

                                    b. Open system characteristics and boundaries.

                                    c. Uniqueness of the GMP.

                                                1) Revelatory vs. intellectual knowledge.

                                                2) Impact of free will on model.

                                                3)  Substituting sources of model empowerment.

                                    d. Usefulness of the GMP.

                                                1) Secular scholars and practitioners.

                                                2) Sacred scholars and practitioners.

                                    e. Reliability tests.

                                                1)  Internal – homogeneity tests.

                                                2)  External – generalization tests.

                                    f. Summary of model boundaries.

                        4.  System states of the GMP.

                                    a. Inclusiveness.

                                    b. Persistence.

                                    c. Distinctiveness.

                                    d. Measurability issues.

                                    e. Dealing with a transcendental-empirical model.         

                                                1)  Secular and sacred bias. 

                                                2)  A master model characteristic.

                                    f. Summary of model system states.

            B.  Empirical Research Phase Results.

                        1.  Propositions of the GMP theory.

                                    a. Specifying observable and measurable theory propositions.

                                    b. Determining evaluative criteria for testing the propositions.

                                                1)  Consistency.

                                                2)  Accuracy.

                                                3)  Parsimony.

                        2.  Identifying and selecting empirical indicators of the GMP.

                                    a. Summary of indicators.

                                    b. Ranking of indicators.

                                    c. Reviewing delimitations.

                        3.  Refining hypothesis and subsidiary questions to test the GMP. 

                        4.  Empirical test (research) results.

                                    a. Introduction.

                                                1)  Modified Delphi Technique.

                                                2)  Participant selection design.

                                                3)  Questionnaire/interview design.

                                                4)  Instrument Testing.

                                                5)  Logistics and relationships.

                                                6) Ethical and control issues.

                                    b. Actual procedures taken.

                                                1) Participant selection and preparation phase.

                                                2) Delphi phase 1.

                                                3) Delphi technique phase 2.

                                                4) Delphi technique phase 3.

                                                5) Participant follow-up.

                                                6) Problems, issues, and procedure summary.  

                                    c. Data Collected.

                                                1) Sample description and observations.

                                                2) Demographics.

                                                3) Unit measures.

                                                4) Governing laws measures.

                                                5) System state measures.

                                    d. Data Analysis.

                                                1) Simple statistics.

                                                2) Correlations and data integration.

                                                3) Factor analysis and applicable statistics.

                                                4) Data analysis of governing laws and system states.

                                                5) Internal and external reliability.

VI.       SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY

            A.  Theoretical Research Summary of the God-Man Paradigm.

                        1. Final GMP Overview.

                        2. Primary Question.

                        2.  Discoveries and limitations.

            B.  Empirical Research Summary of Findings.

                        1.  Overview of findings.

                        2.  Subsidiary Questions.

                        3.  General Summary.

            C. Conclusions.

                        1.  Primary Question.

                        2.  Subsidiary Questions.

                        3.  General Conclusions.

            B. Recommendations.

                        1. Secular Scholars and Practitioners.

                        2. Sacred Scholars and Practitioners.

 

FOOTNOTES

APPENDICES

FIGURES

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 


REFERENCES (Formal Outline)

 

Dubin, R. (1969). Theory Building. New York, London: The Free Press:  Collier Macmillan Publishers.