Thursday night October 29 at 8pm EDT the HR Happy Hour show will take on the topic, 'Is HR Dead?'.
There is nothing like a little in-depth analysis and self-examination of the HR function to rile up the community and this topic certainly has been poked and prodded for the last several weeks.
Since the instructor in me wants to be sure everyone is well-prepared and ready to jump in to the conversation I thought I would assign some pre-reading, to get us all on the same page prior to the show. 
Flickr - KiltBear
In the blogosphere as far as I can tell, the most recent 'Is HR Dead?' conversation started with this post:
'Is Human Resources Fatally Flawed' - Lance Haun at Rehaul
It was followed by numerous responses (or rebuttals if you prefer), a few of which are listed here:
'HR is Dying: Yes? No?' - Laurie Ruettimann at Punk Rock HR.
'HR - Not Dead Yet' - Mike VanDervort at Human Race Horses
'to HR, on news of your death' - Fran Melmed at free-range communication
'HR is Dead: Some Mourn, Some Celebrate, and Others Say "What?"' - Mike Haberman at HR Observations
'HR is Obsolete! Isn't It?' - Joel White at Joel's Views
'Human Resources Departments: I've never understood the point of them' - Sathnam Sanghera at the UK Times Online
And in the last week or so:
The Future of HR - Mark Stelzner at Inflexion Point
'Slow Dancing in a Burning Room' - Maren Hogan on 'Marenated'
Philadelphia Phillies in the World Series Again, Nietzsche, and Other HR Thoughts - Frank Roche at Know HR
The HR Profession, Business Leaders and the Future of Work - Sharlyn Lauby at HR Bartender
But if you think this is somehow a 'new' discussion, it really isn't, the top Google result (at least at the time of this writing) for the phrase 'Is HR Dead' was this piece from 2003 on Workforce.com.
And of course we should not forget this gem from March 2009 - Memo to CFOs: Don't Trust HR - David McCann writing on remarks from Professor Beatty for CFO Magazine.
So you have your assignments, catch up on your reading and join the discussion on the HR Happy Hour Show, Thursday October 29, 2009 8PM EDT, call in 646-378-1086. Frank Roche and Mike VanDervort are set to appear, and perhaps another special guest or two as well.
What do you think, is HR Dead? In need of revival? Need to be scrapped and re-built from the ground up?
It should be a great show!