Information and Communication Technologies Within Human Resource Development : E-Learning in HRD: A Case Study on the Swedish Banking Industry

Abstract: In the last years, new and quick advancements in information and communication technologies (ICT) have entered the field of Human Resource Development (HRD). Many new technological and electronic tools, such as e-learning were developed paving the way to several kinds of learning and training programs. In the Swedish banking industry most of the banks have adopted ICT (e-learning) within their human resource development practices. The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact of ICT integration on HRD functions that aim at empowering individual employees to meet organizational goals. The study also focuses on business key drivers of e-learning implementation. The results and findings of this research indicate that the respondent banks’ e-learning strategies are directly influenced by their organization strategy, and that HRD objectives flow from the analysis of the internal and external factors influencing e-learning implementation. The study shows that the respondent bank organizations, in general, have successfully employed the technological changes in the delivery of their training and learning activities using an effective e-learning development process that achieves the desired strategic objectives. However, HRD functions require more improvements in integrating the different systems and applications, and need more involvement by the employees and managers, within the context of e-learning, so as to maximize the effectiveness of HRD strategies and e-learning approach.