LAUSR

This extended editorial by Professor Jim Stewart is the first example of a ‘quick response’ to contemporary events which I would like to become a regular feature in our journal. An advantage of digital technology is that we can publish such pieces quickly, so stimulating discussions regarding HRD responses to issues that require immediate, but thoughtful, discussion and action. I invited Jim to write this piece following his contribution to a discussion on the Critical Management Studies (CMS) listserve that was focussing on a reported increase of incidents of racism and xenophobia following the UK referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union. In his email to the CMS listserve Jim reflected on his experience of developing advice and materials for the UK Local Government Training Board in its response to national initiatives for anti-discrimination training in the 1970s and 1980s. I will not repeat Jim’s reflections on this. However, I am sure many of us will agree with him that the presence of racism and xenophobia in many countries and communities indicates a failure of education and development. HRD is therefore implicated in this failure. This raises questions about HRD’s purpose, and the values and principles which underpin the theory of practice. I do not want to delay your reading of the editorial. A final point I do want to make is that many postings to the CMS listserve were provoked by visceral responses to events and incidents, and Jim questions whether his reflections are, in fact, reflections. I am less concerned by this. Rather, I view this piece as an example of a critical scholar’s initial steps in reflexively engaging with phenomena that are complex, contradictory and that require sustained attention, interventions and actions.