The Future of HR: Specialists, Generalists, and Human Capital
This essay examines competing visions for the future of human resources (HR) in organizations. Drawing on Stephen Schoonover's argument that HR must fragment into product specialists, generalists, and strategists to remain relevant, the paper pushes back by emphasizing the irreplaceable "human" dimension of HR work. Using Samuel Greengard's perspective on human capital development, the essay argues that HR's unique organizational value lies in holistic, generalist functions — including training, succession planning, diversity management, and global workforce preparation — rather than in mimicking the technical specialization of other departments. The paper concludes that balance, not fragmentation, should define HR's future role.
- Introduction: Is HR at a Crossroads?: Schoonover's challenge to HR's organizational relevance
- Schoonover's Case for HR Specialization: Three proposed HR segments: specialists, generalists, strategists
- The Human Capital Counterargument: Greengard's focus on developing human capital as HR's core purpose
- HR as Organizational Integrator: HR's role in aligning employee goals with organizational vision
- Diversity and Globalization as Core HR Functions: Diversity training and global workforce preparation as HR imperatives
- Conclusion: Balance Over Fragmentation: HR's future value depends on integration, not specialization
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper engages directly with a primary source (Schoonover) and then systematically challenges its central premise, demonstrating critical reading rather than passive summary.
- It uses concrete examples — such as a school district maintaining a mentoring program on a trimmed budget — to ground abstract HR theory in real organizational scenarios.
- Rhetorical questions are used effectively to expose the weakness in Schoonover's argument, inviting the reader to question the logic of HR mimicking other departments to justify its existence.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper models source-based argumentation by presenting a scholarly position (Schoonover's specialization thesis), acknowledging its merits, and then constructing a counter-argument supported by a second source (Greengard). This "yes, but" structure — concede, then rebut — is a hallmark of effective academic argument and keeps the essay analytically balanced rather than one-sided.
Structure breakdown
The essay opens by framing the stakes of HR's future relevance. It then exposes Schoonover's three-part specialization model in detail before pivoting to Greengard's human capital perspective as a counterpoint. Two middle sections apply this tension to practical organizational scenarios and to diversity and globalization challenges. The conclusion synthesizes the argument, asserting that HR's future value depends on integration, not fragmentation.
Introduction: Is HR at a Crossroads?
According to Stephen C. Schoonover's article "HR Competencies for the Year 2000: The Wake-Up Call!", human resource professionals — who are often placed in the position of dealing with the particularities of hiring and firing within an organization — must take the time to consider the future of their own area of organizational specialty. Tellingly, Schoonover subtitles his report: "Human Resources Will Not Go Away, But You Might." In short, Schoonover challenges HR experts to prove the relevance of HR in "adding value" and providing new competencies to organizations, or risk seeing HR departments become obsolete. "Human resources, as a whole, is significantly behind the change curve," he writes (Schoonover, 2002).
Works Cited
Greengard, S. (Mar 2002). "Optimas update: the best get better — Workforce Optimas Awards 1991–2002: A Retrospective — human resources best practices." Workforce.
Leonard, Bill. (Jul 2002). "Ways to tell if a diversity program is measuring up." HR Magazine.
Schoonover, Stephen C. (2000). "HR Competencies for the Year 2000: The Wake-Up Call!" HR Magazine.
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