This document contains three papers from a symposium on organizations in transition that was conducted as part of a conference on human resource development (HRD). "Human Resource Development in an Industry in Transition: The Case of the Russian Banking Sector" (Alexander Ardichvili, Alexander Gasparishvili) reports on a study documenting issues and problems faced by the HRD system in the Russian banking industry, identifies trends in the system's development, and provides insight into evolution of the workforce education and HRD systems in industries in transition. "High Performance and Human Resource Characteristics of Successful Small Manufacturing and Processing Companies" (William R. Venable) discusses a study in which executives from 31 successful small manufacturing companies in Oklahoma were interviewed about their perceptions of high performance and other human resource-related characteristics in their organizations. "HR (Human Resources) Involvement Decisions and Strategies in Mergers and Acquisitions: Four Organizational Portraits" (C. Carol Anthony, Laurel S. Jeris, James R. Johnson) describes a case study in which three theoretical models were used as lenses to explore the timing and scope of HRD involvement in four organizations that were recently involved in a merger or acquisitions. The papers contain reference sections. (MN)