Human Resource Management in a Business Context 3e

Alan Price, HRM Guide Network
ISBN-13: 9781844805488
ISBN: 1844805484

Human Resource Management in a Business Context 3rd edition is a comprehensive introductory textbook addressing the needs of business students studying HRM modules on first year courses and beyond. It approaches the theory and practice of people management from a global perspective firmly placing HRM within a wider business context. This delivers a highly accessible introduction to the subject for students approaching HRM from a range of business-related disciplines.The textbook has a truly international outlook with extensive real-life material from the UK, US, Canada and Australia throughout the book illustrating the practical application of key HRM concepts. This edition includes greater coverage of international HRM, diversity and organizational culture, and highlights HRM 'hot topics' including outsourcing, the aging workforce, and the psychological contract.

Chapter Abstracts

• Ch. 1 Managing People 
  Chapter One covers an overview of the history of people management; the significant developments that led to modern human resource management (HRM); the main differences between 'traditional' personnel management and HRM and the key roles played by human resource specialists
• Ch. 2 The Concept of HRM 
  Chapter Two covers the variety of ways in which HRM is defined; a working definition for the purposes of this book; the most influential early models of HRM and some of the evidence for the adoption of HRM
• Ch. 3 HRM and Business Effectiveness 
  Chapter Three covers the concept of high commitment/performance work systems; the relationship between HRM and knowledge management; an overview of human resource systems; the contribution of HRM and HR technology to business effectiveness and a checklist of HRM principles
• Ch. 4 International HRM and the Global Economy 
  Chapter Four covers positive and negative aspects of the globalization of trade and production that affect human resource management; an overview of the HR implications of economic growth and stagnation; how to evaluate the importance of regional trading blocs and multinational companies in the process of globalization; human resource issues specific to developing countries; the roles of supranational organizations such as the International Labour Organization and the European Union regarding the management of people
• Ch. 5 HRM and the State 
  Chapter Five covers the role played by governments in creating the context for human resource management, the concept of human capital and its implications for development throughout the world, the legal frameworks that regulate employment in the major economies and initiatives taken by the European Union as examples of governmental initiatives with a human resource focus
• Ch. 6 The Employment Market 
  Chapter Six covers the major theories about why people work, the conditions and salaries for which people work and the expectations they have of employers, the relationship between human capital and national employment levels, the effects of competitor activities on employee availability and the patterns of work that are replacing 'nine-to-five' jobs
• Ch. 7 HRM in Large Organisations 
  Chapter Seven covers why organizations structure their people management systems in different ways, the influence of organizational goals on the management of human resources, the advantages and disadvantages of alternative organizational structures and the work of human resource specialists in different forms of organization
• Ch. 8 HRM in Small and Medium-Sized Organisations 
  Chapter Eight covers the nature of entrepreneurship, the consequences of business growth on human resource practice, research findings on human resource management in small and medium-sized businesses and consultancy as a special instance of the small business
• Ch. 9 Organisational Culture 
  Chapter Nine covers Ithe concept of culture at international, national and organizational levels, theoretical approaches to culture, especially that of Hofstede, the contribution of Deal and Kennedy to the debate on corporate culture and how cultures may be managed
• Ch. 10 Commitment and Employer Branding 
  Chapter Ten covers the concept of employee commitment, the practice of employer branding as a form of commitment management, commitment to culture and the true nature of commitment
• Ch. 11 People Strategies 
  Chapter Eleven covers the nature and prevalence of strategic HRM, the influence and involvement of people managers in high-level decisionmaking, different approaches to strategic HRM, and outline their strengths and weaknesses and how people strategies and practices can be adapted to meet perceived threats and opportunities in a changing business environment
• Ch. 12 Change Strategies 
  Chapter Twelve covers the concept of transformational human resource strategies, incremental and packaged change programmes, the HR role in mergers and acquisitions and the issue of behavioural transformation and negative change
• Ch. 13 Resourcing Strategies 
  Chapter Thirteen covers an overview of employee resourcing strategies, the purposes and methods of human resource planning, the process of job analysis and resourcing strategy in the context of staff retention and redundancy
• Ch. 14 Recruitment and Preliminary Candidate Information 
  Chapter Fourteen covers the meaning and significance of recruitment in its organizational context, a typology of recruitment strategies, preliminary information-gathering techniques and the merits of references and biodata
• Ch. 15 Employee Selection 
  Chapter Fifteen covers the screening or pre-selection stage of employee resourcing, the concepts of validity and reliability in relation to different selection methods, a critical overview of selection methods and the frequency of use of different selection methods
• Ch. 16 Equality of Opportunity 
  Chapter Sixteen covers how to define and distinguish between the concepts of equal opportunity and the management of diversity, the scope and effectiveness of legislation and other anti-discriminatory initiatives, the significant barriers to equality and diversity in employing organizations and the nature and extent of discrimination on the basis of sex and gender
• Ch. 17 Dealing with Discrimination 
  Chapter Seventeen covers the causes and extent of racial discrimination in the employment market, the basis and effects of institutional racism, the effectiveness of legislation in the reduction of disability discrimination and the increasing significance of anti-age discrimination initiatives
• Ch. 18 Performance Management 
  Chapter Eighteen covers the criteria that distinguish 'good' from less acceptable performance, the most common techniques for measuring performance, how performance management can be used to reinforce an organization's human resource strategies and whether or not performance management really encourages desirable work behaviour
• Ch. 19 Reward Management 
  Chapter Nineteen covers the relationship between the human resource function and payroll administration, the rationale behind different compensation packages and the link between pay and performance
• Ch. 20 Human Resource Development 
  Chapter Twenty covers the concept of human resource development, HRD initiatives at national level, the need for distinctive management and gender-focused HRD programmes and the concept of mentoring
• Ch. 21 Learning in Organisations 
  Chapter Twenty One covers how to distinguish between learning in organizations and the 'learning organization', the relationship between empowerment, self-development and learning, the role of the trainer in the context of proactive learning methods and the use of new learning technologies
• Ch. 22 Unions and Collective Bargaining 
  Chapter Twenty Two covers the concept of collective employee relations, an overview of formal employee relations, including the role of trade unions, comparative employee relations in a range of developed countries and lessons from comparative employee relations
• Ch. 23 Conflict, Bargaining, Involvement and Well-Being 
  Chapter Twenty Three covers the role of conflict in the workplace, an overview of mediation and tribunal systems, the relationship between employee involvement and workplace productivity and the role of HR practitioners in matters such as work-life balance, health and safety and stress reduction